Arsenal suffer blow as William Saliba ruled out of Chelsea clash through knock

William Saliba has been ruled out of today’s Arsenal match against Chelsea after sustaining a knock that prevented him from being included in Mikel Arteta’s squad. 

Club medical staff confirmed that the defender has not recovered sufficiently to feature, leaving Arsenal without one of their most reliable centre-backs for the London derby.

His absence is a setback for Arsenal’s defence, which is already stretched due to other fitness concerns. Arteta stated that Saliba “will not be involved in this match,” adding that the club will continue to assess his progress before determining when he can return to training and match action.

For today’s game against Chelsea, Arsenal are expected to line up with the following starting XI:

David Raya in goal; Jurrien Timber, Piero Hincapié, and Riccardo Calafiori in defence; Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, and Eberechi Eze in midfield; and a forward line featuring Bukayo Saka, Mikel Merino, and Noni Madueke.