Arteta confirms big blow ahead crucial Man City clash

Arsenal have suffered a blow ahead of their title showdown against Manchester City after Mikel Arteta confirmed William Saliba will miss Wednesday’s game at the Etihad.

Saliba has been out for five weeks with a back injury and is yet to return to training.

Speaking on Tuesday, Arteta said: “There’s not been real improvement unfortunately, so we are still waiting. We are still hopeful but it is another week gone by that he has not been able to train with the team.”

Saliba is unlikely to return for next Tuesday’s game against Chelsea and there are growing fears he could miss the rest of the season.

Asked if Arsenal are planning to be without the French defender for the run-in, Arteta said: “We are preparing for this game without him and the next game is probably going to come too close as well, so we have to go week-by-week at the moment.”