William Saliba was a notable absentee from Arsenal’s official 2026/27 first-team squad photo, released on social media Wednesday, with the club quickly clarifying that the defender had a scheduled medical appointment.
The traditional team photo shows the current squad posing together under manager Mikel Arteta, with the Premier League trophy and Community Shield prominently displayed in front of them and Arteta sitting front and center. All of the club’s summer signings feature in the image, including Ezri Konsa, alongside young talents such as Max Dowman and Marli Salmon — and, in some versions, Win, the club’s resident therapy dog.
Saliba, though, is nowhere to be seen. Arsenal moved quickly to explain his absence and head off speculation, writing on X: “Due to a medical appointment, William Saliba was not available this afternoon.”
Why Saliba Is Missing This Season
The France centre-back has not featured for the Premier League champions this season as he recovers from a long-standing back injury, sustained during his country’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain over the summer. He and the club decided against surgery, opting instead for a lengthy rehabilitation program at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground.
Saliba has recently stepped up his individual training as he works toward full fitness, and the club is reportedly optimistic he could return to competitive action by November.
Speaking this week, Arteta gave an update on his progress: “Now it’s over a week [on the grass], I think, and [Saliba will] be managing that load. How many repetitions and sessions in a row he can do, but he’s building his capacity to good standards. Let’s see in the next few weeks [if] we can start to introduce him with the team, and to see where we are to actually make him available.”
Saliba’s Importance to Arsenal
Saliba has been a fundamental part of Arsenal’s defense under Arteta since making his Premier League debut for the club in August 2022, earning a spot in the PFA Team of the Year in every season since. Across all competitions, he has made 184 appearances and scored eight goals for the club, and signed a new five-year contract last September that runs until 2030.
In his absence this season, summer signing Ezri Konsa has stepped in to form a solid central-defensive partnership with Gabriel Magalhães, with Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié also available as backup options.
A Seasonal Tradition
The release of the squad photo is an annual tradition for the club, giving fans their first full look at the group tasked with competing for honors across the Premier League, Champions League and domestic cups this season — with Saliba’s eventual return still the one piece missing from the picture, literally and figuratively.
