Another injury blow for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal ahead of Brighton

Arsenal continue to battle for their first Premier League title since 2004 but will have to do so without a number of key players. Midfielder Mohamed Elneny (knee) and full back Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are both unavailable and this week it emerged William Saliba (back) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) are now likely to miss the rest of the season.

The situation with Saliba and Zinchenko is a body blow for Arteta and Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes. Both have been excellent for Arsenal this campaign and their absence weakens the team for their remaining matches, starting with Brighton this Sunday.

Saliba injured his back during the Europa League clash against Sporting Lisbon in March, while Ukraine international Zinchenko hobbled off with a calf issue during last Sunday’s 2-0 win at Newcastle United.

Brighton, who arrive on the back of a painful 5-1 home loss to Everton, have injury concerns of their own ahead of the trip to the capital. Solly March (hamstring) and Adam Webster (knock) join Tariq Lamptey (knee), Adam Lallana (thigh), Jakub Moder (knee) and Jeremy Sarmiento (foot) on the sidelines, while Joel Veltman (hamstring) is a major doubt.

Webster’s absence should result in a recall for on-loan Chelsea defender Levi Colwill. Although England Under-21 international Colwill is expected to remain at Stamford Bridge next term, De Zerbi hopes to keep hold of him.

“I would like to work with him another two, three, four years because it’s difficult to find another left centre-back with his quality,” he said. “He’s a good guy. This year his improvement has been fantastic and I hope he can stay with us.”