Arsenal are dealing with something of a defensive selection crisis as injuries continue to take their toll during a frantic period of the season.

The Gunners remained without first-choice centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel for Saturday’s dramatic last-gasp 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa that blew the Premier League title race wide open, with Cristhian Mosquera also sidelined after being forced off in the midweek win over Brentford.

It meant that Mikel Arteta was forced to use his sixth different central defensive partnership in just 22 games across all competitions this term, with summer signing Piero Hincapie - now Arsenal’s only fit senior centre-back - partnered by Jurrien Timber, with Ben White at right-back.

A dearth of experienced options led Arteta to name Marli Salmon o

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