Arsenal to rest William Saliba and Jurrien Timber due to ‘niggles’, confirms Mikel Arteta | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has revealed that defensive duo William Saliba and Jurrien Timber have picked up “niggles” and will be rested for tomorrow’s Champions League dead rubber against Kairat Almaty.

Both Saliba and Timber played the full 90 minutes in Arsenal’s first home loss of the season to Manchester United on Sunday, in which it appears they have picked up fresh injury setbacks.

Arteta, however, has played down the significance of their respective issues and says they will be left out of Wednesday’s meeting at the Emirates with an eye for getting them fit for the weekend.

"Those players [Timber & Saliba] are out," said Arteta in his pre-match press conference.

"They have some niggles and it is a good opportunity now that we try some different work with them to get them in the best possible condition that we can hope for."

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William Saliba (left) and Jurrien Timber are out of Wednesday’s Champions League clash (Getty Images)

Mikel Merino will also be absent from the clash with the Kazakh side due to suspension.

The Spanish midfielder came off the bench against United and forced home a late equaliser, only for the visitors to go up the other end and restore their lead three minutes later through a fantastic Matheus Cunha curler.

The Gunners now sit four points ahead of Manchester City and Aston Villa at the top of the Premier League table - half of what their advantage was at the beginning of the month - but Arteta says he was pleased with how his players have reacted to the setback.

“The reaction has been excellent," he said. "We took a moment to bring the temperature down, to pause and to reflect and to ask questions.

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Mikel Arteta has been pleased with his side’s reaction to the Manchester United defeat (Getty Images)

"One is how do we feel? How do I feel? And how do we want to live the next four months?

"And it was so encouraging and beautiful because what came out of there is very simple. We have earned the right to be in a great position in four competitions and - in the next four months - we're going to live and play with enjoyment, with a lot of courage and a conviction that we're going to win it.

"And this is the mindset and where we're going to put the energy. I'm just hoping everyone who is related to this club, especially the supporters, are going to jump on this boat because this is the way we're going to live the next four months."

Arsenal have already sealed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League, having won all seven of their league phase matches, and will require a big goal difference swing against bottom side Kairat to surrender top spot.