Arsenal have explained why William Saliba was missing from the club's official 2026/27 squad photo, citing a medical appointment.
The France international was not pictured alongside his teammates when the first-team squad posed for the photo, which featured Mikel Arteta smiling alongside the Premier League trophy and Community Shield. Summer signings Ezri Konsa, Christos Tzolis, Ilan Meslier and Bruno Guimaraes were present, as were teenagers Marli Salmon and Max Dowman.
Medical appointment
Arsenal moved quickly to address speculation over Saliba's absence, releasing a brief statement: 'Due to a medical appointment, William Saliba was not available this afternoon.'
Saliba has been sidelined with a serious back injury sustained during a World Cup semi-final defeat against Spain. He has only just begun training on grass again.
Injury update
Arteta gave a cautiously optimistic update on the defender ahead of last week's 2-1 win against Leeds United, but his return to the starting XI is unlikely to be rushed given the current options available.
Arsenal have made a flying start to the season, with defeat at Brighton the only blemish on their domestic and European record. Last night's 2-0 win over Lille maintained their 100% start in the Champions League.
Other concerns
Arteta has several other injury concerns ahead of Saturday's trip to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest. Martin Zubimendi and Piero Hincapie both sustained knocks during the warm down following the victory over Leeds United.
Speaking after the Lille match, Arteta said: 'Zubi is much, much better. Piero is improving, but it looks more significant – I think it will be a matter of weeks, but we don't know exactly how many.' He added: 'We have to see with Zubi how he deals with the pain on the pitch and the feelings he will face.'
