Skonto Rigga
While Gameweek 10 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is still days away, there’s team news from three more midweek press conferences to bring you.
Arsenal‘s Mikel Arteta, Liverpool‘s Andoni Iraola and Manchester City‘s Enzo Maresca all faced the media this afternoon/evening ahead of their midweek UEFA Champions League ties.
We’ve got the key quotes from that trio in this article.
You can read what Aston Villa‘s Unai Emery and Manchester United‘s Michael Carrick said on Monday here.
ARSENAL
William Saliba (back) is finally back in team training.
The centre-half’s return to the grass with his teammates was rumoured on Monday evening and was subsequently confirmed, with cameras spotting him today.
William Saliba in training with the rest of the Arsenal squad right now. https://t.co/PQ78C6DPlQ
— TrueAFCNews (@TrueAFCNews) November 3, 2026
Ezri Konsa’s owners will be particularly keen for a return-to-play timeline, given that Saliba will soon threaten his minutes.
And Arteta said on Tuesday that the France international was “now fit and available to play”.
“He’s in a really good place. I think the process and the timings and the manner that the injury has been dealt with, and especially the feelings that Willi has been having along the way, they’ve been very, very positive.
“His evolution has been as expected, which is not always the case. He feels very comfortable. He played 45 minutes behind closed doors last week, and he feels ready to go. Whether we use him or not now is about what the team needs.” – Mikel Arteta on William Saliba
“I think he feels very desperate and very loved. Willi is somebody who is very admired and very liked around the team. Every time he is around, he creates something special. That’s Willi, that’s his nature. He’s around the team now. Now we need to give him the right moment, the right amount of minutes, and hopefully that’s going to be very soon.” – Mikel Arteta on William Saliba
“Yes, but now, you are in or not. And now he’s in. And he’s in like anybody else, and all the preparation has been done to measure all the load and all the steps that he had to do to minimise that risk. Now he’s in a really good place, he’s built the capacity that we needed. Now, it is about giving him minutes. He’s a centre-back, and when that’s the case, it’s not like an attacking midfielder or a nine who you can change. A centre-back normally has to be able to play 90 minutes. That’s why all the preparation [has been] done to build him.” – Mikel Arteta when asked about Arsenal taking it slow with William Saliba after his ‘delicate’ injury
“That’s more for the specialists than for me. They looked at every option. They got some of the best, leading people in the world with the injury that he had. At the end, they decided that the conservative way was the best route for him, especially with the history that Willi had. Everything has been assessed every week, every month with all for them. The progress has been so good to get the point where he is now fit and available to play.” – Mikel Arteta on why William Saliba didn’t have surgery on his back
“So far, we haven’t had that luxury! I wouldn’t call it a problem. We can talk about problems that are very different to that one! The moment that they are fit and available, we are going to have the opportunity to load the players and to manage the congestion of the players in a much better way than we have actually done it.
“Ezri, yeah, he can play as a full-back; I think his main position is as a centre-back. He can play right or left. Willi has done the same with the national team and here at Arsenal. That’s going to be something really positive for the team.” – Mikel Arteta on how he plans to accommodate William Saliba, Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes, and if Konsa could play at right-back
Elsewhere, Bukayo Saka (quad) remains out.
Max Dowman is still suspended domestically but can play in the Champions League.
LIVERPOOL
The Reds have named a 22-man travelling squad for their trip to Fenerbahce.
The main omission is Ryan Gravenberch, who is suffering from a heel injury. The midfielder will remain at the AXA Training Centre to undergo treatment.
“I don’t know [if he can be fit for Sunday], it’s a day-to-day thing. It’s a fracture of the heel. It’s about the pain. He has been with some discomfort. The other day against Arsenal, he was warming up and he was not fully confident. He hasn’t improved since then.
“But it’s going to be something that every day we ask him, every day we see how he is. If he can be available for the weekend, lovely, he would be a very good help for us. But I cannot tell you right now.” – Andoni Iraola on Ryan Gravenberch
Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Conor Bradley (knee), Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring) and Giovanni Leoni (knee) remain out, too.
Liverpool’s travelling squad: Alisson, Gomez, van Dijk, Jacquet, Kerkez, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Isak, Mac Allister, Gakpo, Tsimikas, Munoz, Mamardashvili, Woodman, Barcola, Araujo, Nyoni, Chambers, McConnell, Koumas, Ngumoha, Danns.
MANCHESTER CITY
Enzo Maresca has a fully fit senior squad bar medium-term absentee Antoine Semenyo (knee).
The Ghanaian winger aside, youngsters Ryan McAidoo and Kaden Braithwaite were the only other players missing from training on Tuesday.
City players in good spirits this morning as they prepare for Leipzig clash in the Champions League. Antoine Semenyo the only senior absentee from the group. No Ryan McAidoo or Kaden Braithwaite. #MCFC https://t.co/lGClGPbuXy
— Alex James (@AlexJamesSport) November 3, 2026
“I said many times, this is not a short run. It’s not a sprint. It’s like a marathon, so we need to think about 65 games. Now, for me, it’s very important, for sure, in this moment to win games in the way we’re trying to do, but it’s also very important to arrive in February, March and April – when things are going to be more exciting – to have all of them available and fit.” – Enzo Maresca
Manchester City’s travelling squad: Donnarumma, Rulli, Bettinelli, Lewis, Nunes, Khusanov, Reis, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol, Ait-Nouri, O’Reilly, Bouaddi, Anderson, Kovacic, Fernandez, Foden, Cherki, Allan, Ndiaye, Doku, Samba, Haaland.
