Arsenal's William Saliba 'expects to be fit for Chelsea clash'

The 22-year-old was due to link up with the France squad for October's clashes with the Netherlands and Scotland following Sunday's 1-0 win over Manchester City, which he played the full 90 minutes in.

However, later that evening, it emerged that the former Saint-Etienne youngster had been playing through the pain of a toe injury, which forced him to withdraw from the Bleus squad.

Nice's Jean-Clair Todibo - who Saliba played alongside during a loan spell in the second half of the 2020-21 season - replaced his former teammate, whose issue was described as "chronic" by the French Football Federation.

News of the defender's affliction naturally raised concern among Gooners, especially as their team's Premier League title charge last term fell apart when Saliba was sidelined with a back problem during the final weeks of the season.

Since overcoming that troublesome issue, Saliba has continued to go from strength to strength in the Arsenal backline, keeping last season's Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland quiet at the Emirates.

Gunners fans can seemingly breathe a sigh of relief now, as the Evening Standard claims that the France international believes that he will be available to face the Blues when domestic football resumes.

Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge on October 21 seeking to prolong their unbeaten start to the Premier League season, having taken 20 points from their opening eight games to sit second in the table behind Tottenham Hotspur, who are only ahead on goals scored.

The report confirms that Saliba did not suffer his injury against Man City but has instead been dealing with it for a number of weeks, and he has largely managed to play through the discomfort.

However, Mikel Arteta admitted before the North London derby that Saliba was a fitness doubt with a problem that he refused to specify, having left him out of the squad for their EFL Cup win over Brentford.

With the 22-year-old not turning out for his country this month, though, there is optimism that he can use the international break to make greater strides in his rehabilitation and return for a hectic run of club fixtures.

Saliba represents one of a handful of Arsenal players to pull out of international duty this month, as Bukayo Saka withdrew from the England squad only a few hours after arriving due to his hamstring problem.

Arteta stated that the 22-year-old would not be fit enough to play for the Three Lions against Australia or Italy, but he was summoned to St George's Park for assessment before the decision was made to send him home.

Meanwhile, Leandro Trossard left the Belgium camp with his own hamstring issue, having been replaced at half time against Man City by Gabriel Martinelli, who went on to score the winner in the 86th minute.

As well as Saliba, France boss Didier Deschamps has also seen Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano and Axel Disasi pull out of October's matches, the latter of whom was called up as a replacement on Monday before withdrawing that same day.