Arteta confirms Konsa scare was precautionary ahead of Hull clash, Saliba nears return

Mikel Arteta has moved to calm fears over Ezri Konsa, confirming the Arsenal centre-back is fit to face Hull City on Saturday after being withdrawn in the 61st minute of Wednesday’s Champions League match against Slavia Prague in Czechia. The England international was replaced by Cristhian Mosquera purely as a precaution, with Arteta managing his minutes ahead of the international break.

“He’s fine,” Arteta said at a press conference on Friday. “He was feeling much better today. We took him out for a precaution and for the amount of minutes that he is playing, but yesterday and today, he’s feeling good.”

Konsa has been one of Arsenal’s most consistent performers since joining from Aston Villa in the summer, stepping in for the injured William Saliba and keeping four consecutive Premier League clean sheets in the process.

Saliba himself is edging closer to a return after missing the entire season so far with a back problem sustained during the World Cup. The France international has returned to full training and was included in Arsenal’s squad for the midweek Champions League fixture. Arteta confirmed he is in contention to feature against Hull.

Arsenal are also monitoring whether Saliba will be called up by France during the international break under new manager Zinedine Zidane. Arteta said the club has been in contact with the French federation but will accept whatever decision is made.

“They have all the information,” Arteta said. “Now it’s about them, about Zinedine in this case to make the call. We will accept whatever it is. Willy needs minutes as well. I know how much he loves to be in the national team. It’s a new manager, a really exciting one as well, so whatever he has decided is fine for us.”