Why is William Saliba not playing for Arsenal against Chelsea and is he injured?

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 26: William Saliba of Arsenal runs with the ball during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on October 26, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images).

Arsenal defender William Saliba was absent from Mikel Arteta’s squad to face Chelsea on Sunday evening.

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The Gunners arrived at Stamford Bridge looking to extend their four-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, with the Blues just six points off top spot.

But the north London outfit had to face the task with a much-changed defence.

Why is William Saliba not playing for Arsenal against Chelsea?

The Frenchman felt discomfort in training, according to Arteta (Image credit: Getty Images)

Saliba joins centre-back partner Gabriel on the injury list, meaning Arsenal’s two main defenders are unavailable.

In their place, 23-year-old Piero Hincapie and 21-year-old Cristhian Mosquera take over the defensive responsibilities, both having only signed for the club this summer.

"We have full trust in the players that are on that pitch"Mikel Arteta speaks ahead of Arsenal's visit to Chelsea 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/Nlxvtfj1cKNovember 30, 2025

Arteta revealed that Saliba misses out due to an injury picked up in training, which he hopes is going to be short-term.

“Yesterday in training, he was comfortable, so we need to explore a little bit more what happened,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “But certainly, he wasn’t fit to be involved today.

“I don’t think it’s something major, but enough not to be involved in such a game.”

Despite the relative youth of his deputies, the Arsenal boss went on to say that he has full trust in all of his players.

The noises coming from Arteta about Saliba sound positive, but Gabriel could still be some time away, with the Gunners manager stating the Brazilian will be out for “weeks” last week.

Arteta has some big calls to make with both of his primary centre-backs now injured (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, these are important times for Arsenal.

They look the strongest squad in the Premier League, and perhaps Europe, and theoretically, the only thing standing between them and silverware this season is unexpected incidents like this.

Thankfully, however, the Gunners recruited well in the summer, so Arteta should have all the tools he needs at his disposal throughout the season.

Saliba is valued at €80m, according to Transfermarkt.