Arteta Still Doubts Playing Saka And Saliba In The Arsenal Vs Chelsea Match

JAKARTA - Arsenal are not certain to be strengthened by the mainstay duo of Bukayo Saka and William Saliba against Chelsea in the London Derby in the English Premier League at Stamford Bridge Stadium, Saturday, October 21 evening WIB. Both are still grappling with injuries even though they have entered the recovery stage.

Manager Mikel Arteta has yet to confirm whether Saka and Saliba can be played in that big match. Saka suffered an injury in the Champions League match so that he missed Arsenal's 1-0 win over Manchester City.

He was also dropped from the England national team even though manager Gareth Southgate had called Saka. Likewise, Saliba was forced to miss a toe injury and could only watch France make sure to qualify for the Euro 2024 fnal round.

The two players actually had enough time to recover from rest for two weeks.

Arteta also chose to prepare players who had undergone harsh training rather than those who had just recovered from injury. "We don't have many players. But we will prepare players who are undergoing training. So we can find out how the players are doing after training sessions," said Arteta.

Regarding whether Saka's chances can be played or not, Arteta is still waiting for the player's final condition.

"He continues to train hard so he can fit during the match against Chelsea. We'll see how his last condition is," he said.

Meanwhile, Saliba will not appear if the injury to her toe still feels disturbing. This is what makes this French center-back doubtful about being able to play in that big match.

"He felt sick for a few weeks. We gave him time to adjust," said Arteta again.

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are competing fiercely for the top position of the standings. If they win, then Arsenal will definitely replace Tottenham who just competed against Fulham, Monday, October 23 in the morning WIB.