Arsenal's Premier League campaign won't end with silverware as many had hoped after setting an incredible pace in the first half of the season. The post-mortem has begun and there will be many explanations for the drop off in form late in the campaign, be it tangible or intangible.
However, many will often point to the same conclusion, being that the injury to William Saliba in the second leg of the Europa League tie with Sporting CP changed the course of the year. The youngster had impressed upon returning from his loan spell with Marseille, jumping straight into the team.
Mikel Arteta's eventual faith was repaid as the Frenchman's comfort on the ball and defensive awareness off of it helped transform the side - leading to comparisons to the impact Virgil van Dijk has had at Liverpool. His absence, and the following downturn in results, led to many claiming it was a huge reason for the drop.
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With another huge season ahead, there will be hope that Saliba can return from injury and have a full pre-season before the campaign begins once again. Though there may be slight doubts over that as Arteta confirmed that he wasn't sure if the defender will be back for then, claiming it is too early to tell.
"It’s probably too early to say," the Spaniard said when asked about Saliba's return in pre-season. "He’s been evolving in the right way. The last few weeks have been much more positive than the previous two months. We wanted to protect him. It was an injury that needed some caring and attention, and we’ve been pretty conservative to give him a chance to have a good pre-season to have a chance to go again next season."
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Should things not look too positive in the coming months, then it may force a rethink in the transfer strategy for the summer window. The midfielder appears the current priority as football.london understands that Declan Rice is a top target for the Gunners in the next few weeks.
If Saliba is to be missing, and given the extra strain of Champions League football next season, then perhaps Arteta and his backroom staff need to look at another centre-back option.
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