William Saliba has returned to full training and is in contention for Arsenal's Champions League clash with Slavia Prague, creating a selection dilemma for Mikel Arteta over whether to drop in-form Ezri Konsa.
Konsa has been outstanding since his £55million move from Aston Villa, helping Arsenal keep six clean sheets in the 10 games he has started. The England international was fast-tracked into the Gunners' starting XI in the absence of Saliba, who picked up a serious injury at the World Cup.
Saliba has travelled to Czechia for the match and could make his first appearance for the club since May. He is likely to start on the bench and come on as a second-half substitute, but beyond Wednesday, Arteta must decide whether to drop Konsa or make Saliba wait his turn.
Konsa's rock-solid partnership
In Arsenal's last three Premier League games, Konsa has struck up a solid partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes. The pair limited Nottingham Forest, Everton and Liverpool to just three big chances combined and did not concede a single goal.
Putting Saliba straight back in after such a long time out risks upsetting the apple cart and stunting Konsa's progress, having comfortably been Arsenal's signing of the season so far. The 29-year-old may be four years older than his returning team-mate but he could still end up Gabriel's long-term partner should Real Madrid act on their interest in Saliba and prise him away.
Saliba, of course, has been there and done it. France had only shipped two goals in six games before he went off injured in July's semi-final against Spain.
Possible solutions and Arteta's view
One solution that could please both players and keep Gabriel in the side is moving Konsa to right-back, although that would leave Jurrien Timber, Ben White and Cristian Mosquera on the sidelines. Arsenal's premature exit from the Carabao Cup gives Arteta less opportunity for rotation, especially with their next two Champions League fixtures coming against Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.
Arteta said of Saliba: "He's in a really good place. I think the process and the timings and in the manner that the injury has been dealt with, and especially the feelings that Willy has been having along the way, they've been very, very positive."
"So, 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, and he feels ready to go. So whether we use him or not now is a matter of what the team needs."
"Willy is somebody that is admired and very liked around the team. Every time he's around he creates something special. That's Willy, that's his nature. He's around the team now and now we need to give him the right moment, the right amount of minutes and hopefully that's going to be very soon."
