Arsenal defender out for three weeks with ankle injury

Arsenal defender William Saliba could be sidelined for the next three weeks with an ankle injury picked up in the warm-up against Liverpool last weekend.

The Frenchman twisted his ankle during the warm-up at Anfield. He managed to play only five minutes on the pitch before he was replaced by summer signing Cristhian Mosquera.

Saliba initially played down fears of a longer injury, but L'Equipe claim that the centre-back could be out of action for the next three or four weeks.

The news is a potential blow for the Gunners, given they have key fixtures against Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle United in that time.

However, they still have sufficient quality and depth after the summer spending. Mosquera was exceptional in his first major test against the Reds.

The club have also signed Piero Hincapie to bolster the central defence. He arrived from Bayer Leverkusen on an initial loan agreement on Monday.

Alongside the duo, manager Mikel Arteta could utilise Ben White, Jurrien Timber or Riccardo Calafiori in the heart of the defence if required.