Jurrien Timber fit, Declan Rice hint - Arsenal's options to replace William Saliba vs Liverpool

Mikel Arteta will have to do something he hasn't done in a very long time on Sunday. Last season William Saliba played every minute as Arsenal ran Manchester City all the way in the title race. After his controversial red card at Bournemouth last weekend though, the Frenchman is suspended for the upcoming visit of Liverpool.

Last time Arsenal had to cope without Saliba, things went pretty catastrophically. Rob Holding failed to fill the void left by the 23-year-old and Arsenal blew a huge lead at the top of the Premier League table. This time Arteta is hoping his squad can cope a little better.

"We have different options," he said when asked what he would do for the visit of the league leaders. "Players that have played there before.

"It's true that partnership [with Gabriel] has been very stable and he has played every single moment. But he's not available. We have to find a different solution which as a team we need to be good at as well."

So who exactly are those options Arteta is talking about? football.london takes a look.

Jurrien Timber or Riccardo Calafiori

We're grouping these two together because both are huge doubts. Jurrien Timber has not played for nearly a month due to a muscle issue, while Riccardo Calafiori suffered a knee injury during Tuesday's win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Of the two, Timber is probably more likely to make it. If Arteta had the Dutchman fully fit and available, he would almost certainly be first choice. Timber was used at the heart of defence in pre-season before Saliba returned from his summer holidays and looked solid throughout.

Timber may not have the size of Saliba, but he has his aggression in the duels. He is also superb on the ball and has the pace to cope with Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo or Luis Diaz down the Liverpool left hand side. If fit, the 23-year-old surely starts.

Ben White

It's not so long ago that Ben White was the future at the heart of the Arsenal defence. Now he is the go-to man at right-back.

The 26-year-old has adjusted his body accordingly to cope with his new position and has been superb there. He is certainly adept in the middle though.

He may not have played there for over a year, but it's interesting to not that when White did play at centre half, it was Thomas Partey who played at right-back. The Ghanaian may have to drop back into a different position here with Takehiro Tomiyasu out injured, and a previous partnership with White could swing the decision.

Jakub Kiwior

Arteta's option to replace Saliba in the immediate aftermath of his red card at Bournemouth was Jakub Kiwior. The Pole didn't exactly convince and was at fault for giving away the penalty that led to the Cherries second goal on the night.

He has played right centre-back instead of Saliba in the past though. Generally he has done quite well in the role, with his performance at Newcastle towards the end of the 2022/23 season being a real standout.

The Pole may well be asked to fill in at left-back, but if you want an orthodox centre-back he's probably your man. Arsenal would lose something in the build up due to the fact that he's naturally left footed though.

Declan Rice

This one feels highly unlikely, but it's something Arteta has experimented with before. Declan Rice is one of the best midfielders in the world, but he began his career at centre-back.

The England international was used their briefly when Arsenal played PSV in their final Champions League group game last season. We've not seen him there since, but that does at least suggest Arteta is open to it.

With Rice further back, Mikel Merino or Jorginho could easily come in to plug the gap in midfield alongside Thomas Partey. It does feel a bit of a risk though, given the length of time since he last played at the heart of the defence.