William Saliba has returned to full training after three and a half months on the sidelines and has travelled with the Arsenal squad to Prague for tonight's Champions League match against Slavia Prague.
The centre-back has been out of action with a back problem that required an extended period of rehabilitation rather than surgery. He took part in Tuesday's session at the club's London Colney training ground before joining his team-mates on the plane.
Arteta's update on Saliba's fitness
Manager Mikel Arteta told a pre-match press conference that the defender "is in a really good place." He added: "His evolution has been as expected, which is not always the case. He feels very comfortable. He played 45 minutes behind closed doors last week."
"He feels ready to go now, so whether we use him or not is a matter of what the team needs."
Konsa's form in Saliba's absence
In Saliba's absence, £55million summer signing Ezri Konsa has been a more-than-capable deputy alongside Gabriel. Konsa has delivered a series of fine performances, and Arteta might prove reluctant to disrupt that partnership just yet.
Switching Konsa to right-back offers one option, given he occasionally played there for former club Aston Villa and England. Arteta also has Jurrien Timber and Ben White as right-back options.
Managing the squad
Asked whether having all three centre-backs available was a "problem", Arteta laughed and remarked: "So far we haven't had that luxury. I wouldn't call it a problem."
"We are going to have the opportunity to ... manage the congestion of the players in a much better way than we have actually done it."
