What Mikel Arteta did immediately after seeing William Saliba go down vs Liverpool, ‘he knew instantly…’

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Arsenal have seemingly carried their injury woes from last season into the new campaign, with William Saliba the latest to be impacted.

Mikel Arteta marched his side to Anfield to take on Liverpool on matchday three of the Premier League season. 

To the Arsenal manager’s frustration, the Gunners were without a number of key players, most notably Bukayo Saka, who will miss a month of action with a hamstring injury. 

Martin Odegaard had to start on the bench as he continues to nurse a shoulder injury, and just four minutes into the contest, injury struck the Arsenal squad once again. 

• READ MORE: How Bukayo Saka privately feels about his hamstring injury as ‘hope’ emerges over Arsenal return date

How Mikel Arteta reacted to William Saliba’s injury 

It was the sight that no Arsenal fan wanted to see, as William Saliba went down just minutes into the match. 

Arsenal tend to struggle without Saliba partnering Gabriel Magalhaes in central defence, making the Frenchman’s premature exit a real worry.

What could be considered even more of a worry was how Arteta reacted to his star centre-back going down off the ball.

As journalist Phil McNulty reported for BBC Sport at the moment of Saliba’s substitution, Arteta was spotted ‘signalling right away’ for his team to kick the ball out of play. 

McNulty noted that the Arsenal manager ‘knew instantly’ that the France international’s day was over, calling new signing Cristhian Mosquera from the bench. 

Mosquera only made his Premier League debut on matchday two against Leeds United, with Arteta trusting the 21-year-old in the cauldron that is Anfield.

Injury-plagued start to the season for Arsenal 

Mosquera was a top-quality acquisition from Andrea Berta this summer, so his early entrance won’t be a concern for Arteta.

What the boss will be agitated by is how many players he’s already lost through injury, despite being just three games into the new season. 

Christian Norgaard hasn’t featured yet, with Ben White joining the absentee list after the opening day, along with Kai Havertz.

Havertz requires surgery, and while Saka will avoid it, the winger just adds to a dire injury list so early into the campaign. 

There will be hope that Saliba’s withdrawal was merely precautionary, with Arteta not wanting to risk any further absences.