Arsenal’s plan torn up at Anfield within minutes
Arsenal’s night in a roaring Anfield became a damage-limitation exercise before the game had even settled. William Saliba—Mikel Arteta’s defensive metronome and one of the league’s most reliable centre-backs—lasted five minutes before an ankle problem forced him off in a match carrying real title weight. He had twisted the same ankle in the warm-up, told the bench he could manage it, then discovered in the first exchanges he simply couldn’t.
The incident itself looked harmless at first glance. After an early tangle with Hugo Ekitike, Saliba felt his left ankle and tried to run it off, only to collapse and call for treatment. He looked gutted as he left the pitch, with Arsenal’s medical team guiding him straight down the tunnel. The stadium clock had barely ticked past five minutes, yet Arteta’s plan—carefully built around Saliba’s calm distribution and recovery pace—was already shredded.
Into the chaos stepped Cristhian Mosquera. The summer signing was thrown in for his Premier League debut in the toughest environment English football can offer. There are few harsher introductions than Anfield under floodlights, facing Liverpool’s high press with a title race on the line. Mosquera stayed steady enough, but the change inevitably rippled through Arsenal’s defensive structure and their build-up patterns.
Post-match, Arteta spelled it out. Saliba thought he could go, he said, but the reality hit immediately. “He twisted his ankle during the warm-up… in the first two actions, I could see that he couldn’t cope,” Arteta explained, adding a line that said as much about the player’s importance as the injury itself: “I am worried. If you can’t play this game, there’s something wrong.”
Those words landed hard because Arsenal know this movie. In spring 2023, Saliba’s back injury cut short his season and Arsenal’s momentum faded. He came into this campaign with a near-clean bill of health outside that stretch—136 appearances for the club and 28 caps for France by the age of 24 underline his consistency. He’s the organiser next to Gabriel Magalhães, the outlet who breaks pressure with a simple pass or a stride forward, and the eraser who cleans up one-on-ones in space. Lose that, and everything gets harder, fast.
Arsenal still did plenty right on Merseyside. They muted Liverpool’s rhythm for long spells and controlled territory in phases. But when Dominik Szoboszlai lined up a free-kick in the 83rd minute, he bent in a finish that decided the night and nudged Liverpool two points clear at the top. A one-goal game swung on a single moment, which only sharpened the frustration on the away bench: with Saliba, you wonder if the final picture looks different.
Why this injury bites, what it changes, and what comes next
Let’s start with the obvious: William Saliba injury is the worst kind of problem for Arsenal because it hits the one area of the team they can’t easily duplicate. The system is built from the back. Saliba anchors the line, lets full-backs step into midfield, and allows Arsenal’s wingers to play higher without fear of counters burning them. Remove him, and the dominoes fall—line depth changes, distances between units widen, and the keeper sees more work.
That tactical hit lands at a time when the squad is already stretched. Bukayo Saka is out. Kai Havertz is out. Captain Martin Odegaard is also sidelined. Those are three starters who make Arsenal’s possession game hum and their pressing sharp. Add the main centre-back to that list and Arteta’s options thin right when the margins at the top tighten.
There was nothing reckless about Saliba’s call to start. Players test knocks in the warm-up all the time; adrenaline and movement can sometimes free an ankle enough to get through a game. This time it didn’t. A twist can be minor—days—or more severe—weeks. The club will send him for imaging to see what the ligaments say. Until then, no one inside London Colney will put a timeline on it.
For Mosquera, the night was a crash course. Anfield punishes any hesitation and amplifies every touch. That he didn’t sink is credit to his temperament. Still, he and Gabriel hadn’t built real-game chemistry yet, and you could see the pair working out triggers on the fly—who steps, who covers, where the line holds against Liverpool’s diagonal runs. With a full week of drills, that can settle. In a title race, though, every dropped point makes that learning curve feel steeper.
Arteta’s in-game tweaks told a story. The full-backs were more selective stepping into midfield. The distances between the centre-backs and the No. 6 shrank to protect the zone where Liverpool love to punch passes into feet. Arsenal didn’t crack under pressure; they just lost the singular edge that defines their best nights away—clean exits under pressure and a centre-back who can dupe the press with a disguised pass into midfield.
The historical context is hard to ignore. When Saliba missed the run-in two seasons ago, Arsenal’s defensive numbers dipped and the press didn’t bite as high. Gabriel had more to do covering space, the midfield doubled back more often, and opponents found more gaps between the lines. Arsenal learned from that, building a deeper squad and better habits. But there’s no like-for-like replacement for Saliba’s blend of anticipation and composure.
What happens now? The first 48 hours are about swelling and assessment. Arsenal will wait for the ankle to calm, then run scans and function tests—range of motion, weight-bearing tolerance, stability under change of direction. If the ligaments are only mildly stretched, you’re talking a brace, rehab, and a return measured in days. If there’s a partial tear, that’s weeks. Anything more serious would reset Arsenal’s season objectives.
Beyond the medical room, there’s a football problem to solve. Arteta has three levers to pull:
- Partnerships: Lock in Mosquera with Gabriel for a run of games to build chemistry fast, or rotate a more conservative option if needed to manage minutes.
- Structure: Ask the full-backs to play flatter to form a temporary back three in build-up, reducing exposure in transition.
- Game state management: Press in shorter bursts, protect leads with an extra midfielder, and trim the risk on early-phase passes through central zones.
Is this salvageable? Absolutely. Arsenal’s underlying play was good at Anfield despite the scramble, and they were undone by a piece of individual brilliance rather than a structural collapse. But the title race rarely forgives even narrow defeats, and Liverpool’s two-point cushion changes the pressure profile. Every next fixture becomes a must-not-lose, especially away from home.
There’s also the Saka-Havertz-Odegaard problem. Without their vertical threat and final-third craft, Arsenal lean heavier on control than chaos. Control is what Saliba gives you from the back—calm restarts, quick corrections when lines break, and a presence that lets others take risks. Lose him and you often see wingers receive the ball a few yards deeper, full-backs hesitate to invert, and midfielders play one pass safer. Over 90 minutes, those tiny adjustments add up to fewer shots created and more defending of your own box.
Liverpool’s winner was the kind of detail that decides titles—an elite strike in a tight game. Szoboszlai’s technique was immaculate, but the free-kick only mattered because both sides had been so clean defensively up to that point. For Arsenal, the frustration is knowing that on their best days, they match that intensity and precision—especially with a full-strength spine. Without it, the cost of any set-piece or second ball rises.
It’s worth remembering Saliba’s durability. Aside from the back issue that wrecked the end of 2022–23 and a brief hamstring blip earlier, he’s been a near ever-present. He manages his body well and rarely plays through visible pain. That’s why the sight of him going down so early, and in such clear discomfort, rang alarm bells. He isn’t one to exaggerate a knock.
Arsenal’s staff will be careful not to rush him. Ankles are tricky—come back too soon and you compensate, which can stress the knee or the other ankle, or lead to a repeat sprain. The usual progression is straightforward: reduce swelling, restore mobility, rebuild strength and proprioception, then return to ball work and controlled contact. The final step is change-of-direction testing at game speed. Only then do you go back into the fire.
The wider title picture doesn’t pause. Liverpool banked three points and the psychological lift of a late winner against a direct rival. Arsenal left with empty hands and a new problem for the week ahead. If the scan brings good news, this becomes a blip, not a bend in the road. If not, Arteta has to rewire the back line while asking a debutant to grow up fast.
Given the stakes, the mood was measured but tense around the Arsenal camp after the final whistle. Players know what Saliba means. Opponents do too. Every manager in the league would highlight him on the scouting dossier—don’t let him step in, bait him wide and press the return pass, crowd him at set-pieces. Most weeks, it doesn’t matter. He simply plays through it.
Now, Arsenal need a plan for when he can’t. That means smarter risk management in build-up, more compact lines without the ball, and a sharper edge in both boxes so games aren’t left to a single late moment. It also means a fast track for Mosquera: video sessions, pattern reps with Gabriel, and the kind of simple, repeatable cues that keep a back line synchronized under stress.
None of this ends the race. Arsenal’s floor has risen over the last two seasons—better squad depth, cleaner processes, more ways to win ugly. But the ceiling still leans on the No. 2 shirt. Until the scan lands and the swelling settles, everything else is theory. What’s certain is that Anfield handed Arsenal a painful lesson in how fragile a title chase can feel when a cornerstone slips away in minute five.