William Saliba will feature for Arsenal's Under-21 side on Sunday after being left out of the matchday squad for the Premier League clash with Hull City at the Emirates.
The French defender has not played a minute of competitive football this season after suffering a back injury at the World Cup. He recently returned to first-team training and was named on the bench for the Champions League match against Slavia Prague on Wednesday.
However, Saliba was not included in the squad for Saturday's game against Hull, with Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes continuing their partnership at the centre of defence.
Arteta confirms U21 plan
Mikel Arteta confirmed pre-match that Saliba would instead play for the U21s against Aston Villa on Sunday.
"He needs some minutes," the Gunners boss said. "Obviously, the Champions League allows you to bring more players into the bench, but we believe that it's the best thing to do, to play some minutes on the weekend with the Under-21s and then be fully fit for the international break."
France decision
Speaking on Friday, Arteta confirmed that Saliba was available to be called up by France for their two Nations League matches over the international break.
"They have all the information," he said. "Now it's about them, about Zinedine in this case to make the call. We will accept whatever it is. I think it's something between them.
"Willy needs minutes as well. I know how much he loves to be in the national team. It's a new manager, a really exciting one as well, so whatever he has decided is fine for us."
Zinedine Zidane opted against calling up the Arsenal star into his second squad as France manager, meaning Saliba will remain in north London over the international break.
