Saliba, Saka withdraw from the team

England duo William Saliba and Bukayo Saka will stay at Arsenal and miss Euro 2024 qualifiers over the next two weeks.

Immediately after Arsenal's 1-0 win over Man City in the eighth round of the Premier League on October 8, the French national team's Twitter page announced that Saliba could not join the team due to an injury to his right toe. The 22-year-old player will be replaced by Nice's center-back Jean-Clair Todibo.

Neither France nor Arsenal have announced how long Saliba will be out. It is expected that the player will be assessed at the London Colney training centre in the near future.

Saliba in a man-marking of Haaland in Arsenal's 1-0 win over Man City in the Premier League on October 8. Photo: AFP — Saliba in a man-marking of Haaland in Arsenal's 1-0 win over Man City in the Premier League on October 8. Photo: *AFP*

Meanwhile, coach Mikel Arteta confirmed that Saka was unable to train and was forced to withdraw from the England squad. The 22-year-old limped off the field in all three recent matches against Tottenham, Bournemouth in the Premier League, Lens in the Champions League and did not play in yesterday's match against Man City. Therefore, Saka's record streak of 87 consecutive appearances in the Premier League was broken.

At the Emirates Stadium on October 8, while Saka sat in the stands, Saliba played his best game of the season for Arsenal. The French centre-back played the full 90 minutes, passed with 99% accuracy, cleared the ball twice, tackled twice, won both duels and one aerial challenge. Saliba intervened promptly when approaching, putting pressure from behind, making it impossible for Nathan Ake to comfortably finish when the ball went over the bar in the fourth minute. The centre-back has also not let an opponent get past him in the first eight rounds of the Premier League.

Saliba's fine form helped Arsenal contain Erling Haaland - the Norwegian striker only touched the ball 23 times and did not shoot. Haaland has gone four consecutive Premier League games without a goal, with 346 minutes, since scoring the second goal in the 14th minute of the win over Nottingham Forest on September 23. This form is in contrast to his 52 goals in 53 games in all competitions last season.

According to British newspaper Sunsport , Saliba showed no signs of discomfort after the match against Man City. Therefore, many Arsenal fans are skeptical about the real severity of the toe injury that the 22-year-old midfielder suffered.

"We have successfully pulled Saliba out of the France squad," one fan commented. "Saliba will not play in the international break," another wrote, along with a picture of former manager Arsene Wenger celebrating. "The Arsenal coaching staff have finally learned the dark arts," the other joked, along with a picture of a smiling Mikel Arteta.

Saliba joined Arsenal in 2019, at the age of 18. After three seasons playing for St Etienne, Nice and Marseille on loan, he returned to the Emirates Stadium, immediately shining but unable to help the "Gunners" win the Premier League due to a back injury.

Saliba had problems in the match against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League on March 16. Since the French midfielder was out, in the last 11 rounds of the 2022-2023 Premier League, Arsenal have won only six, drawn two and lost three. Before that, in 27 matches with Saliba's participation, they won 21, drew three and lost only three. After the failed sprint, Arsenal dropped to second place and five points behind Man City.

Hong Duy

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