Arsenal fans spotted the one defender who stepped up without William Saliba

Previous Arsenal title challenges have been completely derailed by injuries, but that is not the story of this season. In 2022/23 for example, when William Saliba suffered a season-ending back injury against Sporting, the team's form nosedived, with Rob Holding unable to fill the vacated void. Thus, there was some obvious anxiety in the away end at the Amex on Wednesday night when the Frenchman's name was not on the team sheet, but credit to Cristhian Mosquera for ensuring, by the end, this wasn't even a talking point.

Arsenal's Premier League record with and without William Saliba

Note: Statistics via Squawka and Transfermarkt.

Of course, it is a far smaller sample size, but the numbers speak for themselves. Since his Premier League debut at Selhurst Park, Arsenal have won just nine of the 20 matches Saliba has sat out, compared to 88 of the 124 in which he has featured. The Gunners also concede less than a goal a game with the Frenchman, a number that increases by almost 69% in his absence.

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown labels Saliba a "Rolls Royce", adding that "he's very solid, very consistent", while some supporters believe he may be the best centre-back the club has ever had.

When asked about Saliba not being involved in Sussex, Arteta noted the following:

"He turned his ankle against Chelsea. He managed to finish the game somehow, but he was too sore to play today."

Mikel Arteta on William Saliba's fitness

Saliba's spell on the sidelines is not expected to be an issue long-term, unlikely to feature in Saturday's FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town anyway, set to return in Germany against Bayer Leverkusen for the first leg of the Gunners' Champions League last 16 tie next Wednesday.

In place of Saliba, Arteta deployed Cristhian Mosquera alongside Gabriel against Brighton, saying this of the Spaniard ahead of kick off:

"Cristhian’s showed that we can fully trust him."

Mikel Arteta on Cristhian Mosquera

This pretty much sums it up succinctly. Mosquera arrived from Valencia for £13 million in the summer, but joining Arsenal was a bold decision, considering how good the Gunners two centre-backs are. So far, the Spaniard has made 22 appearances, accumulating 1,265 minutes, starting six Premier League and four Champions League games.

The biggest compliment one can give Mosquera is that, whenever he deputises, you don't notice any sort of a drop off. This week, he was booked after just 11 minutes by the South Coast, rather harshly one could argue, but this did not faze him, putting in a solid display before being replaced by Riccardo Calafiori shortly after the hour mark.

Cristhian Mosquera's statistics vs Brighton

So, with huge games coming up, none more so than the EFL Cup Final against Manchester City, there obviously isn't a Gooner on the planet who would not want Saliba to be available. Nevertheless, Mosquera has proved to be, time and time again, a more than capable understudy, and still only 21 years old, he's only likely to get better and better.