21 April 2023 , 03:00
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Arsenal will be aiming to take a step towards ending their near two-decade wait for a Premier League title on Friday evening as they take on Southampton.
The Gunners welcome the bottom club to the Emirates Stadium and will certainly be hoping they are able to extend their lead over near rivals Manchester City to seven points. Mikel Arteta has had some bad news ahead of the game though with a couple of his key players struck down by injury.
Arsenal icon Thierry Henry has also issued his worry ahead of the title run-in. Here's the latest news coming out of the Emirates Stadium over the past 24 hours.
Arteta hints at long-term Saliba problem
Arteta refused to confirm that William Saliba would return for Arsenal before the end of the season after admitting the French defender's recovery is proving problematic.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Spanish head coach said: "With William, we are still to wait a little bit more. He’s not progressing as quickly as we hoped.”
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Asked if his injury could potentially be season-ending, he replied: “I don’t know, next week we will have more certainty. There is some evolution. He is doing more activity but he’s not there yet to start to throw him on the pitch at the level that the session demands to compete in this league.”
Read the full update here
William Saliba will miss Friday's game with Southampton (Getty Images)What starting XI should Mikel Arteta name vs Southampton? Share your suggestions in the comments below
Henry issues “emotional” warning
Henry believes Arsenal are still in control of the Premier League title race but fears their emotional state will get the better of them.
Speaking to CBS Sports, the Frenchman said: "38 games - you can't be too emotional about it, but you've seen recently how emotional we've been. So far, we were not expected to be there.
“You still have hope, we're still ahead, Man City still have to win games to get ahead of us. It is still there in front of you, but get rid of the emotional part of the game."
Read his thoughts in full here
Levy makes Arsenal admission
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has admitted that Arsenal’s title challenge makes him “feel sick” amid a disappointing season for his side.
Talking during a Q and A with the Cambridge Union last month, he said: “Am I happy that we haven't won more than one trophy in the last 15 years? Absolutely not.
“But I also think we've had some fantastic times, being in the Champions League a number of times. Despite the fact I feel sick that there’s a club in north London that’s a bit higher than us at this moment in time, if I look back in the last five years we've also been higher than them. So that's what happens.”
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