William Saliba out, Declan Rice on bench for Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest | Football

William Saliba has missed Arsenal’s Premier League match against Nottingham Forest due to injury, while Declan Rice is on the bench.

The French centre-back was forced off after just five minutes in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Liverpool with an ankle problem before the international break.

Saliba pulled out of France’s squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland but returned to training with Arsenal ahead of the resumption of the Premier League this weekend.

However, Saliba has failed to make Arsenal’s matchday squad for Forest’s visit to the Emirates Stadium and £13 million summer signing Cristhian Mosquera starts alongside Gabriel.

‘He [Saliba] trained yesterday but at the end of the session after I spoke to him he wasn’t really fully ready to start the game or contribute in the way we needed certain references so we decided not to put him in the squad,’ Arteta told TNT Sports on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Eberechi Eze has also been handed his first start since his £67.5m move from Crystal Palace in the closing stages of the summer transfer window.

Meanwhile, Rice has surprisingly been named among the substitutes for Arsenal with Arteta opting to play Martin Zubimendi alongside Mikel Merino in midfield.

When asked about the decision to drop Rice, Arteta said: ‘Connections on the pitch… obviously, the amount of games we are going to play in the next 21, 22 days, and the amount of games they have already played with the national teams.

‘Finding that right balance, making sure everybody is connected, obviously [they are] very good players.’

Ange Postecoglou takes charge of his first match as Forest manager after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo this week.

The former Spurs boss makes just once enforced change from the 3-0 defeat at home to West Ham on August 31 as the injured Ola Aina is replaced by Morato.

‘I didn’t want to make so many changes today. I wanted to keep it fairly consistent. We lost Ola but Morato comes in,’ Postecoglou told TNT Sportsbefore kick off.

‘Until you get to know the players, it is hard to make an accurate assessment. Some guys have a hell lot of potential to improve as well.

‘When you walk in the dressing room and the feeling I sense is it’s a united group. I’m looking forward to working with them.

‘I don’t see anyone in the squad who won’t be able to play the football that I want to play.’

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