Arsenal believe that they would have won against Aston Villa had Gabriel and William Saliba played | OneFootball

Arsenal suffered their second Premier League defeat of 2025-26 at Aston Villa on Saturday, and now only have a two-point cushion at the top of the table.

Despite losing 2-1 to the Midlands club, there is still a sense of calm at the Emirates Stadium, according to the Independent journalist Miguel Delaney.

He claimed in his ‘Inside Football’ bi-weekly newsletter today that a win would have been secured if Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba had been in the team.

The Arsenal centre-backs are injured. The Gunners were also without Spanish defender Cristhian Mosquera for the trip to Villa Park.

They deployed Piero Hincapie and Jurrien Timber at centre-back, and while they did not put a foot wrong, they are not as influential as Saliba and Gabriel.

Saliba has missed the last three league games, while Gabriel has missed the last four and could be out of action until January after a knock during the last international break.

The Brazilian suffered an adductor injury in a friendly against Senegal on November 15.

Fortunately for Arsenal, the France international is expected to return to action this month after suffering an unspecified knock in training shortly before the Chelsea game.

The Gunners are back in action on Wednesday with a trip to Belgium to take on Club Brugge before resuming their Premier League campaign at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

Saliba could be available for the midweek trip, and Arteta will be hoping Gabriel also returns sooner rather than later, as Arsenal could do with the duo right now.