Why William Saliba missed Arsenal's draw with Brentford

William Saliba is not in tonight’s matchday squad (Picture: Getty)

William Saliba has been left out of the Arsenal matchday squad taking on Brentford in the Premier League this afternoon.

Arsenal are looking to restore their six-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table after Guardiola’s side cruised to a 3-0 win over Fulham on Wednesday.

The Gunners head to west London full of confidence after impressive wins against Leeds and Sunderland in recent weeks.

However, Mikel Arteta has been dealt a blow before kick-off after Saliba was ruled out of the clash due to illness.

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The Frenchman has been an imperious figure at the heart of Arsenal’s defence, and has been replaced in the starting lineup by Christian Mosquera.

Speaking before kick-off, Arteta said: ‘This morning Wilo wasn’t feeling good so he’s ill. He’s at home, just short-term.’

William Saliba’s shirt was in the dressing room ahead of tonight’s fixture (Picture: Getty)

Elsewhere, Arsenal made three further changes, with Eberechi Eze, Piero Hincapie and Viktor Gyokeres coming in for Kai Havertz, Ricccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Jesus.

Havertz misses out having reportedly picked up a fresh muscle injury.

There was some good news for Arsenal though, with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka able to be named on the bench after their respective minor injuries.

Brentford, meanwhile, make one change from their win over Newcastle at the weekend as Yehor Yarmoliuk comes in for Jordan Henderson.