Arsenal defender William Saliba will have breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the latest news emerging from Chelsea.
The Gunners sit pretty at the top of the Premier League table after seven matches, a point clear of second-placed Liverpool.
Having played several top sides already this campaign, Mikel Arteta’s team now have a run of winnable fixtures in the next four weeks.
However, this run doesn’t continue forever and the difficult games roll around again in late November, when the Spaniard’s side face Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the space of a week.
Cole Palmer could miss Chelsea vs Arsenal
Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge on November 30th, days after hosting Bayern in the Champions League.
Arteta’s outfit beat Chelsea in April, but have failed to win in each of their last two visits to the old West London stadium.
Damningly for Enzo Maresca’s side, it now appears that they may be without their talismanic attacker for the game against the Gunners.
Maresca confirmed in his press conference on Friday morning that Cole Palmer will be out for the next six weeks with a groin injury.
“Cole Palmer will be out for six more weeks,” the Italian said.
“The medics are not magicians. We hope six weeks are enough. For sure, Cole will be okay, and he doesn’t need surgery, absolutely”.
The England international will miss crucial games against Tottenham and Barcelona for the Blues, and his lay-off is likely to extend just about to the Arsenal game.
Unless he makes a miraculous recovery before then, he’s unlikely to be starting against the Gunners, although it’s plausible that he’ll be fit enough to make the bench.
Palmer has been unable to make his mark frequently against Arsenal, missing two of Chelsea’s last three matches against the North Londoners.
William Saliba will be relieved to see Cole Palmer’s absence
The only occasion in which Palmer has haunted Arsenal for Chelsea was his first appearance for the West Londoners against the Gunners.
The attacking midfielder started and scored against Arteta’s team in November 2023, in a game that ended 2-2.
Palmer was outstanding in the first half of that game at Stamford Bridge, running Saliba ragged throughout the opening 45 minutes.
Not only did the Frenchman struggle to deal with the elegant playmaker’s elusive movements on the ball, but he also conceded a penalty through a handball. Palmer gleefully dispatched this spot-kick penalty.
While Arsenal reversed a two-goal deficit in that particular game, it was a woeful evening’s work for Saliba.
The imperious centre-back doesn’t struggle to deal with many attackers, but Palmer clearly has the ability to cause him issues – he’ll be delighted that he may avoid playing him once again.
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