Arsenal are taking flak from fans after leaving William Saliba out of their annual squad photo.
The Gunners lined up 24 of their stars alongside Mikel Arteta and their Premier League and Community Shield trophies on a proud day at their London Colney training ground.
It is a photo which will be remembered for years and one they hope will mark a waypoint on their journey to multi-season dominance.
But they were scrambling to excuse themselves after taking the snap without their star centre-back.
Saliba, they explained, had a medical appointment and therefore had to be excluded.
The Frenchman is yet to play this season after suffering a back injury during the World Cup.
Arsenal are taking criticism after leaving William Saliba out of their squad photo… because of his medical appointment
Saliba pictured holding the Premier League trophy with Declan Rice during Arsenal’s parade
Arsenal did not explain the nature of his medical appointment but he is building towards a return to the first-team.
Saliba, 25, has resumed individual training and while he has a way to go before he can play, Arteta is positive about his progress.
‘It’s over a week I think [he’s been on the grass], obviously we’re managing that load,’ Arteta said.
‘He’s building now his capacity to good standards, and let’s see in the next few weeks if we can start to introduce him to the team to see where we are to actually make him available for the squad.
‘We’re still talking about weeks, and when that happens, it’s very different whether he would play just before or just after [the November international break] because it’s a very specific injury, that the healing process I cannot tell you exactly how he’s going to react to.’
Saliba played in 31 of Arsenal’s title-winning games last season and made 50 appearances in all competitions as they reached the final of the Champions League for the first time since 2006, losing to Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsenal’s supporters were less than impressed with the club’s decision to take the photo without him.
‘You could have just waited for Saliba to be back before doing this,’ said one fan on X.
Another said: ‘Why would you do this without Saliba? Surely he could’ve got his medical appointment moved, come on now!’
One said: ‘So why not wait for Saliba to be back. This is very silly. Played a huge role to winning the Premier League. There is no pressure to post the picture.’
Somebody added: ‘Please, reschedule another photoshoot because Saliba deserves to be in this picture.’
Another said: ‘I am sorry this is very disrespectful to Saliba regardless of his medical appointment.’
So, what do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
