Mikel Arteta admits he regrets Saliba decision, hints at Aubameyang position change

“I was hoping that Pablo would be back in two weeks but he had a setback and then we don’t have Pablo and we don’t have William when he’s fit and available to play”.

“But when you make those decisions, you can’t always think about every possible outcome”

Despite Arsenal’s plethora of central defenders, only Gabriel and Mustafi are fit which is quite worrying as the fixtures continue to pile up.

Arteta is impressed by his steady progress as he continues to feature for the under-23s.

He also talked about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and what could get him firing again. Asked about Aubameyang featuring in a central position.

“Yes that’s a very possible thing,” Arteta said.

“It will depend on the games, it will depend on who he’s surrounded with. I think it’s very important to see who is around him and why we’re doing it.

“Not just the fact we’re doing it, why we’re doing that and what we’re going to get by doing these positive things. Of course, there’s a very strong possibility to play him as a number 9.”

Arteta has opted to use Lacazette, Nketiah and even Willian as the Centre Forwards, Aubameyang playing out wide on the left for majority of his Arsenal career.

But the Gabonese international who has been Arsenal’s top scorer for two consecutive seasons has struggled to find the back of the net this season.

Arteta has revealed that he is working on the teams attacking aspect and he remains confident that Aubameyang will rediscover his form and start firing on all cylinders.