No Saliba, no problem, Mikel Arteta could now revive ‘very good’ Arsenal partnership

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Mikel Arteta could revive an Arsenal partnership from the past in reaction to William Saliba’s injury.

Arteta acted instantly to Saliba’s injury at Anfield, hauling the Frenchman off after just four minutes of play.

Anxiety was also instant, as fans wondered what had happened to the defender to see him taken off so early into the contest.

It was later revealed that Saliba was hurt in the warm-up, where he twisted his ankle, which has since ruled him out of international duty.

• READ MORE: Every Arsenal player on September international duty and how to watch them

Mikel Arteta could replace William Saliba with Ben White

What at first appeared to be a minor injury that merely ruled the defender out of the game against Liverpool has since developed into something more concerning.

It’s been reported in France that Saliba will be out for three to four weeks, which would see him miss the start of Arsenal’s Champions League campaign, as well as some testing Premier League fixtures.

Fortunately, Arsenal have options to cope without their star defender, as, if anything, Arteta now has a selection headache when it comes to identifying his replacement.

Cristhian Mosquera is capable of replacing Saliba, as are the others ready and waiting in the pecking order, one of whom is Ben White.

Though Arteta prefers to play White at right-back, the £50m signing is a centre-back by trade and has already built up quite the partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes.

There’s no touching Gabriel and Saliba’s partnership, but when it comes to who gels with the Brazilian best after his French counterpart, it’s arguably White. 

Gabriel loved playing alongside Ben White

While Saliba was thriving on loan at Marseille, Gabriel and White were forming a strong central defensive partnership.

Gabriel himself praised how he paired with White, predicting that the duo had the ‘makings of a very good partnership’.

Considering that White was in contention to return from injury against Leeds, the Englishman’s return to fitness could come at the perfect time now that Saliba is out.

Gabriel could trade his favourite partnership to revisit the one he created with White back in the 2021/22 season, but will Arteta sanction the change?