Mikel Arteta coy on Bukayo Saka and William Saliba fitness ahead of Chelsea vs Arsenal

Mikel Arteta has faced the press ahead of Arsenal’s game against Chelsea in the Premier League. After the stunning victory over Manchester City prior to the international break the club still had a number of injury concerns.

William Saliba and Leandro Trossard both pulled out of their international call-ups to France and Belgium respectively. The centre-half has been playing through a toe injury whilst the left winger suffered a reoccurrence of a hamstring problem which already saw him miss games this season.

Bukayo Saka of course did not feature in the game against the champions. The injury in the midweek Champions League clash with RC Lens was enough to cause him to miss the table-topping fixture.

Therefore, and without any news on the topic, supporters have been eager to find out any information on the player’s status. In Arteta’s press conference ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge he provided very little regarding clear information.

«Not a lot,» he said when asked about team news. «We haven’t had a lot of players. We’re going to do our first training session today and we’ll know more after the session.»

Arteta was asked whether Saka wants to play to which the answer was obvious. He said: «I'm sure he wants to play yes.»

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Adding later on: «He's been working so hard to be fit for this game. So let's see where he's at today.»

On William Saliba, the curiosity around the issue was confirmed by Arteta to be one he has had for some time. But there was optimism that it wouldn't be a long-term issue.

«Hopefully not, but obviously he's been carrying