Nedum Onuoha reacts to William Saliba injury blow by pointing at £2m player Arsenal sold

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Arsenal are already suffering in the injury department, just three games into the 2025/26 season.

Last term, Arsenal’s injury list was extensive, giving Mikel Arteta extra incentive to bolster his squad depth in the summer transfer window.

Andrea Berta delivered just that, which was fortunate, as the Gunners are already struggling on the injury front.

After it was announced that Bukayo Saka would be out for a month with a hamstring problem, Arteta lost another key player, as William Saliba was hauled off after four minutes at Anfield.

• READ MORE: What Andrea Berta is focusing on at Arsenal now that the transfer window has closed

Nedum Onuoha makes Rob Holding point and reacts to William Saliba injury update

Arteta immediately knew that he had to take Saliba off against Liverpool, with it later revealed that the centre-back had twisted his ankle in the warm-up.

As a result, Arsenal’s medical team have been criticised for their handling of the matter, with the latest news making the decision to let the defender play look even worse.

L’Equipe broke the news that Saliba will be out for three to four weeks, which is a blow for the Gunners…or is it?

Pundit Nedum Onuoha spoke about the matter on ESPN FC, where he revealed the faith he has in Arsenal’s improved squad depth.

“He’s very, very good, but I think Arsenal will be able to find a way; they’re still defensively very solid,” Onuoha said.

Interestingly, the pundit then threw Rob Holding into the discussion, comparing Arteta’s options now to what they were just a few years ago.

“I think the people coming in, with all due respect to a couple of years ago, are probably of a higher standard right now compared to, like, Rob Holding was, the last time he [Saliba] was out for a period of time.”

Signed for just £2m in 2016, Holding’s Arsenal career went from a high to a low quite rapidly once Arteta took charge, with the defender now playing for Colorado Rapids in the MLS.

Onuoha drew attention to Holding’s struggles in 2022/23 when Arsenal were in the thick of a title race, which made Saliba’s absence look impossible to recover from.

Arsenal’s central defensive options without Saliba

Fortunately, things are very different now.

“He will be a blow, but one month of no William Saliba is manageable for Arsenal,” Onuoha concluded the discussion with, reminding fans that defensive depth struggles are a thing of the past.

Arsenal have an impressive list of defensive options, added to in the summer through the arrivals of Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie.

After Mosquera impressed in Saliba’s place against Liverpool, the 21-year-old could find himself tested a lot more.

What once would’ve been a catastrophe is now merely an inconvenience, with Arteta possessing multiple top-quality options for cover.