Arsenal are back in action tonight when they host London rivals Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners hopes of winning this season's Premier League title have taken a major setback without the injured William Saliba in recent weeks. Mikel Arteta's side have picked up just three points from their last four league fixtures, now sitting one point behind Manchester City, who also have a game in hand on the north Londoners.
But there is still some slight hope for Arsenal, who need to win all five of their remaining league matches if they are to have any chance of catching City. With that said, football.london has rounded up the last injury news and updates from N7 ahead of Arsenal's match against the Blues this evening.
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William Saliba
Saliba limped off in Arsenal's exit from the Europa League against Sporting CP, suffering an issue with his back that forced the youngster to be substituted. The defender has missed the last few games and was absent yet again for the clash against Manchester City.
It remains to be seen whether Saliba will be in contention for the clash against Newcastle United at the weekend, with today's match against Chelsea coming too soon for the Frenchman.
What Arteta has said: "He's not going to be involved tomorrow. We will have to wait until the next game to see where we are."
Expected return date: Unknown
Granit Xhaka
Xhaka was missing from the starting line-up against Southampton and his absence was felt in the final-third. The Switzerland international was unavailable due to illness and was not spotted in training during the week ahead of the game against Guardiola's side.
Xhaka did make a return against Man City though, starting the game in his usual midfield role on the left, marking his return from illness and he is therefore available for this week's clash with Chelsea.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Takehiro Tomiyasu was substituted inside the first 10 minutes of the Gunners' clash against Sporting CP at the Emirates Stadium. The Japanese defender had overstretched for a tackle early in the match and had to receive treatment on the pitch shortly afterwards and was unable to continue.
An official club statement then read: "Tomi has had successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be ruled out for the remainder of this season. Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi, so he can join pre-season training ahead of next season."
Now, Arteta has claimed that the versatile defender could be out for up to six months, meaning he would miss the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
What Arteta has said: "I don’t know, he’s an important player but I don’t know how to quantify," Arteta said when asked about how important Saliba's absence has been ahead of Tuesday's game with Chelsea.
"I don’t know how to quantify when Gabriel Jesus has been out for four months, Nketiah for three months, Emile Smith Rowe for four and a half months, Kieran Tierney out for a few weeks, Tomiyasu out for three-and-a-half months, maybe now six months. This is football."
Expected return date: Unknown
Mohamed Elneny
Elneny started in the FA Cup win over Oxford United and played the whole 90 minutes. However, the Egyptian was absent for Arteta's squad for the 2-0 win at Tottenham, with a knee issue picked up in training ahead of the clash being assessed. Additionally, there was no place on the bench to face Manchester United.
A club statement then confirmed that the former Basel man will be out for an extended period of time, although no timescale was given on his expected return. Elneny has since penned a new deal at Arsenal as he closes in on a return.
Expected return date: Unknown
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