Why William Saliba isn’t playing for Arsenal against Chelsea confirmed in official statement

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Arsenal centre-back William Saliba was not named in the squad to face Chelsea in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta’s side have had a testing start to the 2025/26 season on the injury front, with yet another blow now confirmed. 

As Arsenal prepare to face Chelsea in a top-of-the-table Premier League blockbuster, it was revealed that Saliba is not fit to feature. 

In a statement revealing Arteta’s starting XI to face Chelsea, Arsenal confirmed that Saliba misses out due to injury after sustaining a knock in training.

It’s a huge miss for the Gunners, considering that Gabriel Magalhaes is also sidelined due to injury, with Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie replacing the famed duo.

Arsenal receive double injury boost for Chelsea 

While Saliba’s injury is bad news, it wasn’t all doom and gloom when Arsenal’s starting XI was announced.

Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres faced fitness tests to see if they could make the cut, with the pair of strikers making the squad to face Chelsea. 

It’s a boost for the Gunners in attack, but can the front line be enough at a time when Arteta’s favoured central defensive pairing is out?

We’ll soon find out.