Arteta confirms Arsenal seeking replacement for injured Saliba, EPL begins Friday

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed the club are actively seeking another defender because of William Saliba’s long-term injury and a shortage of options in the backline.

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Arteta made the disclosure on Thursday while speaking ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium on Friday.

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“We are really active in the market, I think I mentioned that a few days ago,” Arteta said in a club statement.

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“The ambition is to improve the squad. We have a really specific issue in the backline, especially with the long-term injury of Wilo [Saliba] and the fact that we miss one more defender; that’s clear.

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“So we are trying to reinforce that area. Whenever we’re ready, we’ll announce something,” he added

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Asked whether a signing was close, Arteta said Arsenal were doing everything possible but that the outcome was not entirely within his control.

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“I’m always positive, I’m always confident. It’s something that I cannot control. It doesn’t depend just on us, so we are willing to improve that area and we’re going to try our best to achieve that,” he said.

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Arteta also confirmed that Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are available for Arsenal’s opening fixture.

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“Yes, they’re ready to be involved, yes,” he said.

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However, Jurriën Timber is not yet back in full team training.

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“No, I said in the next few weeks. He’s not training with the group yet,” Arteta said.

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The Arsenal manager said the club wanted to maintain a deep squad because of the demands of the season and lessons from last campaign, when injuries affected several players in the same area of the pitch.

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“Because I would like to have the squad as big as possible because we know what we are fighting for, how long this is and will learn again from the past, especially last year, when we got in some difficult situations and we had two or three injuries in the same area of the pitch,” he said.

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“So the deeper the squad that we have, the better.”

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Arteta said the size of the squad would ultimately depend on several factors, including player availability, injury history and versatility.

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“22 players and three goalkeepers or four is enough, or maybe you need more, need to understand what happened in the previous season, the injury record of those players, the versatility of certain players,” he said.

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“I’m sure we’ll land on the right number: a bit of both, a lot of competition, the right level of cooperation in the team, and everybody feeling important.”

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Arsenal are also looking to increase their dominance this season, with Arteta saying greater squad availability would be crucial to achieving bigger winning margins.

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“The more dominant we are, and the bigger the margins, the better,” he said.

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“So in order to achieve that, we’re going to have to be much better in every department. In order to achieve that, we need to have much better availability in the squad than we had last year for long periods of the season so that those margins become bigger.”

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On Bruno Guimaraes’ fitness ahead of the Coventry game, Arteta said: “Let’s see how he is. He’s evolving really well, but let’s see for tomorrow.”

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He also confirmed that Myles Lewis-Skelly would remain at Arsenal after the transfer window closes.

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“100%,” Arteta said when asked if Lewis-Skelly would still be an Arsenal player at the end of the window.

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Arsenal begin their campaign as Premier League champions after winning the title last season, with Arteta insisting the club must now start again and earn the right to challenge for the trophy.

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“From today, no, because we start from scratch, from zero tomorrow, and we’re going to have to prove we have the level to go back to that position again,” he said when asked whether Arsenal had a target on their backs as champions.

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“You give me the choice, I want to be first, I want to be hunted, and I want to be in control of our future rather than depend on somebody else.”

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Arteta said Arsenal’s desire to retain the title was not in doubt.

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“That we want, I guarantee you, with my life, that’s the case, and how willing they are to achieve that.

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“But we need to show, and that’s only on the pitch and the way we act and react and overcome different challenges and opportunities over the season, whether we are capable of doing it or not,” he said.

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Multiple reports had on Wednesday and Thursday indicated that are Arsenal lead in the race to get versatile Aston Villa and England defender, Ezri Konsa.

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