William Saliba is sent off against Bournemouth as Mikel Arteta gives instructions(Image: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta gives early Arsenal hint at Liverpool plan after William Saliba red card

21 Oct 2024, 12:30 by Joe Doyle, Kaya Kaynak · football.london

Mikel Arteta has given a hint at how Arsenal may plan for the clash against Liverpool at the weekend as the Gunners are forced into a plan with William Saliba absent.

Arsenal are in action on Tuesday evening at home to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, and there have been some injury issues throughout the squad following the return from international football.

The likes of Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber missed the trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, while Martin Odegaard remains out for the time being with an ankle injury.

Against the Cherries, Arteta had arguably his first-choice defence available, with Ben White starting at right-back, Saliba and Gabriel at centre-back and Riccardo Calafiori at left-back. However, it would not stay that way for too long.

Saliba's red card for denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity disrupted the Gunners - though they were not exactly at their finest before the sending off. Arteta's side eventually fell to a 2-0 defeat on the South Coast, losing pace with Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the table.

It was a damaging moment for the Gunners, and Arteta admitted in his press conference ahead of the game against Shakhtar that playing with 10 men is something Arsenal cannot afford to do on a regular basis - with his side seeing red three times so far in the Premier League season - dropping points on each occasion.

"Well, I mean, playing with 10 men, obviously there is an issue," Arteta told reporters. "The truth is when you analyse the three very different actions and the outcome of them, the reasons are very different. Regardless of that, we cannot continue to play with 10 men, especially at this level. And you see how struggling, all the teams have to win football matches.

"When you want to do it against 10 men for 65 minutes, the task becomes almost impossible. So, we need to eradicate that. It's clear why, the reason and how, it doesn't matter. We have to focus and it has to happen.

When asked if he planned on appealing against the red card given to Saliba, Arteta responded: "I leave that more to the club to understand the circumstances and other examples that are very clear in the same position and they will have to decide it."

Saliba is currently set to miss the home clash against Liverpool, throwing up a problem for the Gunners with some interesting options on how to replace the France international.

Jakub Kiwior came off the bench to replace Raheem Sterling on Saturday after the red card, slotting in at centre-back alongside Gabriel. However, the Poland international showed signs of rustiness, giving the ball away to Evanilson in the second half which led to the penalty that sealed the win for the hosts.

One other potential choice for Arteta would be for one of White or Timber to start in the centre, with the other at right-back. And while Timber was absent for the loss at Bournemouth, it seems he could certainly be ready for the game against Liverpool.

"I think it’s going to be close, obviously," Arteta said on Timber's availability for the game against Shakhtar. "We have to see how he deals with training with the whole group because he hasn't done that yet but he will be pretty close hopefully."

If the Dutch star is 'close' to being back for the Champions League clash, it would suggest that he is likely to be available for the game against Arne Slot's side - and could be the preferred for Saliba.

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