William Saliba injury concern ahead of Arsenal-Aston Villa clash | OneFootball

William Saliba is a concern for Arsenal’s match against Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon after an apparent absence from training and worrying images from the win over Tottenham Hotspur.

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Initial minor concerns were raised around William Saliba and a potential injury during Arsenal’s match against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

The Arsenal defender roamed forwards on a powerful run in the 88th minute, but after playing the ball he pulled up and stopped, looking towards the bench and stretching out his legs in apparent discomfort.

The centre-back completed the match, but fears of a hamstring problem were increased when the player was subsequently absent from any training photos ahead of Saturday’s game against Aston Villa.

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

The training-photo absence doesn’t necessarily confirm anything, for multiple reasons.

For a start, Arsenal deliberately select which photos they release to the public to avoid giving out any information about which of their players with fitness doubts might be involved. It’s very possible Saliba was involved, and the club just wanted to keep that a secret.

Though that would be some impressive mind games in this case. There wasn’t much talk about a Saliba injury before the training photos were released, so the club would have had to have anticipated the speculation before it happened.

It’s also worth mentioning that a player struggling with tightness or a heavy workload might take a training session off and then still be involved in the game. So even if Saliba really wasn’t involved, that might not rule him out against Villa.

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

But if Saliba is indeed out, Arsenal will have to shift some players around, as there isn’t an obvious alternative to the French international in the squad.

Jurrien Timber could play at centre-back instead of right-back, or Jakub Kiwior could play as a right-centre-back rather than his usual position on the left side. Kieran Tierney is also a somewhat less likely option.