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Arsenal have been dealt a major blow as they will lose William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko for the rest of the season through injury.
Saliba has been out since sustaining a back issue in Arsenal's Europa League round of 32 second-leg defeat to Sporting Lisbon in March.
Zinchenko, meanwhile, picked up a calf problem in this past weekend's 2-0 win over Newcastle. And according to The Athletic's David Ornstein, the duo will not be returning for the North London club's final three league games of the season.
“Arsenal duo William Saliba & Oleksandr Zinchenko have been ruled out for the remainder of season,” The Athletic tweeted Thursday. “Saliba sustained a back issue in #AFC‘s #UEL defeat by Sporting Lisbon in March, while Zinchenko was forced off against #NUFC with a calf problem.”
Zinchenko's injury is not ideal as he has been a key part of Arsenal's success this season. However, the Ukrainian has had some poor performances lately so Gunners fans wouldn't mind seeing Scotland international Kieran Tierney take over the reins for the rest of the season.
However, Saliba's absence was already a significantly greater blow for Mikel Arteta's side. The Frenchman was a key pillar of the team's defense but since his injury, Arsenal would go on to concede 13 goals in their next six league games, slipping up to Manchester City in the title race in the process.
A big reason for that was the error-prone Rob Holding deputizing for Saliba, but with Jakub Kiwior now playing next to Gabriel, the Gunners have won their last two league games with just one goal conceded.
However, it might be too little, too late with Arsenal one point behind City who have a game in hand. But then again, crazier things have happened in title races.
