William Saliba and Jurrien Timber to miss Southampton vs Arsenal

Saliba has hamstring injury while Timber has had ankle surgery 

Jurrien Timber and William Saliba will miss Arsenal's final game of the 2024-25 season at Southampton this weekend due to injury.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed Timber has undergone ankle surgery, after the Dutch full-back was not included in the squad for the 1-0 win against Newcastle United which secured Champions League football and essentially second place last time out.

However, Saliba’s 100th Premier League appearance in the same game ended early after being forced off at half-time with a hamstring injury - which will see the talented French centre-back miss out on the trip to St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday. 

Arteta confirmed: “William is going to be out for a few weeks, unfortunately.

"He pulled his hamstring against Newcastle, so he's going to be out for a few weeks.

Arteta added: “Jurrien had surgery yesterday on his ankle, so he'll be out for a few weeks as well.”

The Arsenal manager took time out to praise both players, saying of the former Ajex defender: “With Jurrien, you understand that he was coming back from an ACL one year out, and to have this season after an ACL, it's incredible,” he continued. “We didn't sign a player, we signed a leader, a very, very special character.”

Arteta went on to hail Saliba, adding: “We've seen his progression, his development, and the standard that he's hitting at the moment."

No player in the club's history has won more matches in their first 100 league matches for the club than Saliba, with the win over Eddie Howe's Magpies taking him to 68.

The 23-year-old has played in 51 of Arsenal's 57 matches in all competitions this season, and has been nominated for the Premier League Young Player of the Season award.

“When you talk about those numbers, it's incredible," Arteta added: "He's so much to learn and improve, so we have a player there for many, many years.”