Arsenal Injury News: Arsenal went into the November break five points clear at the top of the Premier League, with nine wins from 10 and a defence leaning heavily on one summer signing. Ezri Konsa has featured in all 14 matches since joining from Aston Villa in August, and Arsenal won eight of the nine league games he played.
The workload caught up with him in Prague last Wednesday. Konsa clutched his knee in the first half and left after the hour, for Christian Mosquera, with Mikel Arteta citing his recent minutes. He recovered for Hull, playing 90 minutes in a 1-0 win settled by Martin Ødegaard.
William Saliba, sidelined since a back injury at the World Cup, played a half for the under-21s against Aston Villa on Sunday, his first action since July. Arteta wants to build him up slowly, which only works while Konsa and Gabriel stay fit.
Tuchel plays it safe
England have complicated that plan. According to Sam Tabuteau in the Evening Standard, Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Konsa and Inter Milan’s Djed Spence will both miss Thursday’s Nations League game against Croatia at Wembley. The 29-year-old missed Wednesday’s session at Tottenham’s training ground and has followed an individual programme since joining the squad.
Tuchel expects both to recover, but said “we will not take the risk” against Croatia. The plan is individual work on Friday, team training on Saturday and a return for Sunday’s meeting with Spain.
Arsenal Injury News: Should Arsenal rush Saliba back to protect Konsa?
No, because Saliba has played a half of under-21 football since July, and Newcastle away on 21 November is a poor place to test his back.
Konsa is worth protecting. Arsenal’s analysis shows he led the Premier League for pass completion last season at 95.5%, and opponents dribbled past him four times. That security suits Gabriel’s defending. The weakness is durability. He suffered a serious knee injury in May 2022, so another knee complaint at 29 deserves caution rather than a shrug.
Arteta should treat Mosquera as the first rotation option instead. He came on for Konsa in Prague and can start a midweek game without disturbing the pairing. Saliba can join from the bench at Newcastle and start against Manchester City on 29 November only if he has minutes behind him.
Arsenal have scored 15 league goals in 10 games and won 1-0 at Anfield and against Hull, so one missing centre-back costs more points here than at a side scoring three a game.
