Arteta confirms Saliba 'fit and available' ahead of Slavia Prague clash
William Saliba is back and ready to play, with Mikel Arteta confirming the France international has returned to full training and is available for selection ahead of Arsenal's Champions League trip to face Slavia Prague.
Speaking to the media in Prague, Arteta gave an extensive update on Saliba's recovery, revealing the defender had already played 45 minutes behind closed doors last week as part of his return to fitness.
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“Yes, he's in a really good place,” Arteta said. “I think the process and the timings and the manner that he's been dealing with, and especially the feelings that he's been having along the way, have been very, very positive. So, his evolution has been as expected, which is not always the case. He feels very comfortable, he played 45 minutes in closed doors last week, and he feels ready to go to where he is right now. It's a matter of what the team needs.”
No surgery needed
Arteta also confirmed that Saliba avoided surgery on what he described as a delicate injury, with specialists ultimately recommending a conservative approach given the player's history.
“That's more for a specialist than to me, but they looked at every option,” Arteta explained. “They got some of the best leading people in the world with the injury that he had, and at the end they decided that the conservative way was the best route for him, especially with the history that William had. Everything has been assessed every week, every month with all of them, and the progress has been so good to get to the point where he's now fit and available to play.”
The Arsenal boss stressed that managing a centre back's return is different to other positions, given the physical demands of the role. “Now he's in, and he's in like anybody else,” Arteta said. “All the preparation has been done to measure all the loads and all the steps that he had to do to minimise that risk. Now he's in a really good place, he's built the capacity that we needed, and now it's about giving him minutes. He's a centre back, and when that's the case, it's not like an attacking midfielder or a nine that you can change. A centre back normally has to be able to play 90 minutes, and that's why all the preparation that we've done to build him.”
A welcome selection headache
With Saliba now back alongside Ezri Konsa and Gabriel, Arteta addressed the prospect of having three senior centre backs fit at once, insisting it would be a welcome problem rather than a genuine issue.
“So far we haven't had that luxury, I wouldn't call it a problem,” he said. “We can talk about problems that are very different to that one. So the moment that they are fit and available, we're going to have opportunities as well to give players or to load the players and to manage the congestion of the players in a much better way than we've actually done it. Ezri can play as a full back, I think his main position is as a centre back, he can play right or left, Will is on the same with the national team or here at Arsenal. That's going to be something really positive for the team.”
Arsenal face Slavia Prague in the Champions League having beaten the Czech side 3-0 in the same fixture last season, with Arteta describing their opponents as “a really good team, extremely well coached” under a manager who has been in charge for almost a decade.
Arteta will now have to decide how much of a role, if any, Saliba plays as he continues his return from a lengthy lay off, with the manager keen to manage his minutes carefully in the coming weeks.
