William Saliba could be facing a “long term layoff” with a back injury which, should it require surgery, may reportedly sideline the Arsenal star for as long as five months.
France’s World Cup semifinal with Spain was not yet half an hour old by the time Saliba dropped to the turf. The 25-year-old admitted that he has been nursing a back problem since March, “gritting his teeth” to help Arsenal win the Premier League and usher Les Bleus into the last week of the World Cup.
Ultimately, even Saliba couldn’t bear the agony for any longer.
Slumped on the grass, Saliba told his center back partner Dayot Upamecano that his back was “dead,” L’Équipe reported. The same French authority revealed that, after months of carefully managed training sessions and batches of painkillers, surgery is the likeliest option, a fate BBC Sport also backed up.
Should Saliba go under the knife, he would be expected to miss between four and five months, theoretically robbing Arsenal of their most important defender until mid-December. Mikel Arteta has some important decisions to make.
Trust the Squad
The first port of call should be internal reflection. Arsenal have racked up the fourth-largest net spend of any English club over the past three years. As flexible as the Premier League’s financial rules may appear to be for the division’s elite, they can’t keep spending so frivolously, especially with other areas of the roster in need of reinforcement.
Arteta already has experience in operating without Saliba, who sat out a dozen games last season with various ankle and back problems. Throughout the vast majority of that absence, Cristhian Mosquera was trusted to fill the void.
The spritely Spanish center back enjoyed an impressive debut year in England. While studying an online university degree in interior design, the 22-year-old was learning the ropes of how Arsenal’s backline best fits together. The beauty of Saliba’s partnership with Gabriel is their balance of traits: the Brazilian is more naturally front-footed that his French counterpart, who expertly sweeps up behind his teammate’s forward surges.
Potential Partners for Gabriel Already at Arsenal
| Player | Strong Foot | Apps at Center Back in 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|
| Cristhian Mosquera | Right | 29 |
| Piero Hincapié | Left | 18 |
| Riccardo Calafiori | Left | 7 |
| Ben White | Right | 6 |
| Christian Nørgaard | Right | 2 |
| Declan Rice | Right | 0 |
Stats via Transfermarkt.
Mosquera also tends to take a proactive approach to defending, which would force a stylistic change from Gabriel. Piero Hincapié can also operate infield but, like his fellow South American, is left footed, which limits Arsenal’s passing angles out from the back. Riccardo Calafiori also favors his left side, potentially forcing Arteta to turn to less natural options.
The defensive midfield pairing of Christian Nørgaard and Declan Rice both have experience at center back, although these would represent extreme choices. Arguably the best fit would be Ben White, who spent so much of his career at center back before being reconverted to right back to accommodate Saliba at Arsenal in the first place. However, White has injury issues of his own, sitting out the World Cup with ligament damage in his knee that could impact his involvement in preseason training.
If Arteta is unimpressed by the myriad of defenders at his disposal, all eyes will turn to the transfer market.
Short-Term Fixes
There are two broad approaches Arsenal could take this summer if they are compelled to buy Saliba’s replacement; plug the gap with a short-term fix, or invest in a player who could challenge Arsenal’s starting XI in the years to come.
Ezri Konsa clearly represents the former path. Aston Villa’s utility defender will turn 29 in the fall and has been linked with a move to the capital in light of Saliba’s questionable health. Comfortable at center back or in a wider role, Konsa won the trust of Thomas Tuchel to establish himself as a starter throughout England’s World Cup run.
Tasked with building out from the back by Unai Emery, the former Brentford defender is steady if not spectacular with the ball at his feet. He’s certainly nowhere near as aerially imposing as Saliba. Free agent and six-time Premier League champion John Stones ticks both those boxes.
Had this setback come earlier in Arteta’s Arsenal tenure, he would surely have given serious consideration to snapping up a former Manchester City player. Pep Guardiola’s ex-assistant briefly set about trying to transplant a winning mentality at the Emirates by signing the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus. However, the Basque boss appears to have discovered that if a player is not deemed good enough for a direct rival, it’s probably not a good idea to sign them.
Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix has also been floated as a potential option—it was the 26-year-old who replaced Saliba (unconvincingly) in that semifinal against Spain. Rather, this enforced absence could compel the Gunners to look to the future.
Build for the Future
When Saliba recovers, he will expect to have his starting spot back. A seasoned professional is unlikely to be so keen on playing the role of understudy. Someone more junior may be.
Real Sociedad’s 20-year-old Jon Martín has emerged as a potential talent of interest. It’s almost comical how much the Basque defender fits the theme of recent Arsenal transfers, which invariably seem to involve either a center back, Real Sociedad or someone named Martin: by that logic, this is the jackpot.
The Spain U-21 international broke into his club’s first team at the end of the 2024–25 campaign before starting the majority of last season’s matches. The 6'2" center back is stronger in the air than with the ball on the ground, but has plenty of upside and the potential to improve.
Castello Lukeba may argue that he is already worthy of a starting spot at a top club after putting together three straight seasons as a starter for RB Leipzig. The price of any potential deal for the 23-year-old could put Arsenal off, which may be a similar issue for Benfica star Antonio Silva.
Arsenal’s belatedly successful title challenge was almost derailed by fitness issues last term. “If I fed those injuries into a computer and asked it what our chances were of winning the Premier League, it would have given us a 2% chance,” Arteta fretted. It took some creative solutions, plenty of investment and several players pushing through the pain barrier to overcome those hurdles. As the manager warned: “I wasn’t going to settle for that.”
The fitness headaches have begun again and it remains to be seen how Arteta deals with them. One thing, though, is certain: he won’t settle.
