Mikel Arteta 'very worried' over William Saliba injury | OneFootball

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted he is "very worried" about the hamstring injury suffered by centre-back William Saliba.

Saliba missed Saturday's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa with what Arteta initially described as a "minor" issue, but the boss confessed after the final whistle that he did not actually know the extent of the defender's condition.

"I think tomorrow we will have more information, we will have another test on him and we will be more clear about that," Arteta admitted.

Asked whether he was concerned about seeing Saliba join the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus on the treatment table, Arteta added: "Yeah, for sure, especially with the numbers that we have in the squad and looking at our bench - very worried."

Defence is a particular area of concern for Arteta, who was also without Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu for the visit of Villa. Thomas Partey, a midfielder by trade, had to drop to right-back to help make up the numbers.

While there are few issues in midfield, Arsenal are also struggling in attack. Saka and Jesus are long-term absentees, while Ethan Nwaneri is currently unavailable, leaving Arteta forced to admit a new striker should be signed before the end of the January transfer window.