Arsenal dealt blow over William Saliba as Frenchman is ruled out of Manchester City game

Arsenal defender William Saliba is likely to miss Wednesday’s Premier League title clash against Manchester City, LondonWorld understands.

The 22-year-old has been absent from the Arsenal squad since sustaining a back injury in the Europa League loss to Sporting last month.

There was initial optimism that Saliba could be available for Wednesday's pivotal title clash, but the seriousness of his injury means he is unlikely to be risked.

As revealed in last week’s episode of the Chris Wheatley Show, there are increasing fears within London Colney that Saliba is set to be ruled out for the rest of the season.

Rob Holding has filled in for Saliba during the last few games, with Arsenal failing to keep a clean sheet and drawing their last three consecutive matches.

"He’s not progressing as quickly as we hoped and it is a bit delicate so we want to be certain that when we push him,” said Gunners boss Mikel Arteta before the match against Southampton.

“He’s ready to absorb the load and the risk that we’ll take, and that’s not possible at the moment.

When asked whether the Frenchman would feature again this season, he added: "I don’t know, it’s a bit early to know. Probably next week we’ll have more certainty."

Arteta's side are five points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, but Pep Guardiola's team have two games in hand over what many expect to be a title decider on Wednesday night.