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Mikel Arteta has assured Arsenal supporters that William Saliba’s absence from this season’s squad photo was due to logistical reasons and revealed it will be retaken to include the defender.
Saliba is currently sidelined with a long-term back injury, sustained while playing for France in the summer’s World Cup, with the 25-year-old ruled out for an “extended period”.
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The Premier League champions released their squad photo for the 2026/27 season this week, but fans were quick to spot that Saliba was not present.
Arsenal’s William Saliba sustained a long-term injury at the World Cup (Getty)
The club later clarified that Saliba was not available due to a “medical appointment” and Arteta explained they couldn’t reschedule the photo, but will arrange for another one to be taken soon.
“What happened was that we have tried to do that picture three times already and we had to cancel it last minute for different reasons,” Arteta said.
“We had some commercial obligations, we had some people who came to do that, so we decided to do that picture.
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“At least we will have another picture with the whole family. Hopefully we can get them all together at some point one day, and we’ll announce that.”
Arteta said Saliba was “fine” – although his team-mates have given him some grief over his absence.
“It wasn’t in his hands. Willy is normally happy about everything. He knows how loved he is. He was taking some banter from the players and he is completely fine.”
Arteta added that Saliba is set for another MRI scan next week but said his recovery from the back injury has been “very positive”.
“I think next week we have another MRI with him to see how the healing process is going. But every sign so far has been very, very positive. It will be good to have him.”
