Arsenal sweat on William Saliba as injury statement released and replacement named

Arsenal have endured a punishing opening to the Premier League campaign. The Gunners have not only faced a challenging fixture list, but Mikel Arteta's squad has also been decimated by a string of injuries.

The latest setback involved William Saliba, with the French defender hobbling off just five minutes into Sunday's defeat against Liverpool. Consequently, he has been withdrawn from international duty.

A statement from the French national team confirmed that Benjamin Pavard has been called up as his replacement: "William Saliba, who started for Arsenal against Liverpool on Sunday, was forced off in the fifth minute. He will not be able to honour his call-up for the first training camp of the season. He is suffering from a sprained left ankle.

"After a discussion with Franck Le Gall, the French team doctor, Didier Deschamps confirmed the unavailability of William Saliba. The national coach has decided to call up Benjamin Pavard as a reinforcement."

While Bukayo Saka represents another casualty in Arsenal's mounting injury crisis. The England winger sustained a hamstring problem during the clash with Leeds, with his comeback scheduled for October. German striker Kai Havertz has also been sidelined.

For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to our Daily Express transfer newsletter.

The ex-Chelsea star has already undergone surgery for a complaint sustained on the campaign's opening day. However, Mikel Arteta remains optimistic that his absence won't be prolonged.

He commented: "I think it will be weeks, but I don't know how many months. Very unfortunate, very sad for him. I think he did tremendously well to recover from the previous one. He's never had an injury before. And suddenly this happens, but this is our profession, our football.

"We need to live with that. Obviously, we lose another big player for many, many weeks. But it was the right thing to do. The doctors advised and I think he was very convinced at the end that it was the quickest and the best way to resolve that issue.

"Every time there is a surgery you expect something like this. I'll leave that for the medical staff to explain in detail what it was. But hopefully the most important thing is when he gets back he's in good condition - and maybe in a long time he'll be protected by the players."

There is more encouraging news regarding Martin Odegaard, Christian Norgaard and Ben White. Arsenal's skipper was named amongst the substitutes against Liverpool, making a brief appearance from the bench. Norgaard and White are anticipated to make their comebacks following the international break.

Meanwhile, long-term casualty Gabriel Jesus has remained on the sidelines since January with a severe knee problem and is not anticipated to make his return in the immediate future.

Arsenal have confirmed they have omitted the Brazilian from their Champions League group stage squad.