Mikel Arteta drops brutal injury news Arsenal fans feared ahead of Brighton clash

Arsenal faces Brighton and Hove Albion in the League Cup tomorrow evening. However, William Saliba will not feature in the match at any capacity, due to injury.

At the weekend, Arsenal got a win against Crystal Palace. It was yet another clean sheet for the Gunners, and Eberechi Eze opened his Arsenal account against his former club. We guess you could say... It All Worked Out.

Except, it wasn't a perfect day for the Gunners. Sure, the win was nice. It was made even nicer by their main title rivals crumbling without them even asking.

However, the win and everything that surrounded it was overshadowed by William Saliba's injury. The Frenchman went off, and he was replaced by Cristhian Mosquera.

William Saliba won't play for Arsenal vs Brighton

Now, Mikel Arteta has revealed that the weekend's injury scare has ruled William Saliba out of action for the match against Brighton. He will not play, not even from the bench.

In his own words, Mikel Arteta said: "Saliba is out, he won’t be involved in this match." It might not be easy for Arsenal fans to hear that, but honesty is the best policy here.

We know what you're thinking; big deal, right? It is only the League Cup, the last competition Arsenal will be prioritizing this season. It is a match that Saliba might have been rested in, anyway.

Furthermore, Cristhian Mosquera is more than capable of stepping up. It isn't the first time Arsenal has lost Saliba this season, and during his last absence, Mosquera became one of Arsenal's best players. He still has that momentum, and he will want to make an even bigger claim in his second run of chances in the starting lineup.

William Saliba missing from action is never a good thing, though. Sure, Arsenal is much stronger in depth than they were last season, but Mikel Arteta would rather have all of his troops available.

However, Mikel Arteta does have some positive Arsenal injury news

That said, there is a positive flipside to this news. While Saliba has been ruled out, many of his Arsenal teammates have been ruled in.

Continuing, Mikel Arteta said: "Rice will be available. Calafiori, yes. Martinelli, it looks as well as though he is going to be out. This game will come too early for him. Saka is “going to be fine."

So, Martinelli is the only recent addition to Saliba on the injury report. Otherwise, Arsenal's star players including Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori will all be fine for the Brighton match.

It will be interesting to see how Mikel Arteta approaches the competition. In the past, it has been a competition that Arteta has overlooked. It's understandable, considering many still call it the milk trophy.

We anticipate seeing a rotated lineup for this match, giving rest to key players before returning to the Premier League.