Mikel Arteta has confirmed that William Saliba is ready to return to action after recovering from injury, insisting that the decision over his involvement against Slavia Prague will depend on what Arsenal need.
The Gunners boss addressed the media at the Fortuna Arena ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash, discussing Saliba's fitness, Arsenal's defensive options, Martin Zubimendi's role, Max Dowman's development and the challenge posed by the Czech champions.
Arteta began his press conference by expressing his condolences following the tragic death of Jesús de Miguel, describing the incident as heartbreaking.
"Absolutely heartbreaking. Watching back the action, the incident, what happened. To see a colleague lose his life in such a manner, it's beyond any words that I can put today.
"So, on behalf of everybody at the club, we want to send our condolences to the family of Jesús de Miguel, all his loved ones, and to Tenerife as well because it's been a really difficult day."
The Arsenal manager provided an encouraging update on William Saliba, confirming that the French defender has completed another important stage of his recovery and is now available for selection.
"He's in a really good place. I think the process and the timings and the manner in which the injury has been dealt with, and especially the feelings that Willy 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.
"So whether we use him or not now is a matter of what the team needs."
Arteta also spoke about Saliba's emotional state during his time on the sidelines, highlighting the Frenchman's importance to the dressing room.
"I think he feels very desperate and very loved because Willy is somebody who is admired and very liked around the team.
"Every time he's around, he creates something special. That's Willy, that's his nature.
"He's around the team now and we need to give him the right moment, the right amount of minutes, and hopefully that's going to be very soon."
Asked whether Arsenal would remain cautious with Saliba following his injury, Arteta explained that the club had carefully managed every stage of his rehabilitation to minimise the risk of a setback.
"Yes, but now you are in or not. Now he's in and he's in like anybody else.
"All the preparation has been done to measure all the loads 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 and now it's 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 that you can change. A centre-back normally has to be able to play 90 minutes, and that's why we've done all the preparation to build him."
Arteta was also asked about Martin Zubimendi's role moving forward, with the midfielder having endured an unfortunate spell involving ankle and nose injuries.
"He's a very important player for us. He's been a bit unlucky with what happened with the ankle, with the nose afterwards.
"He had some minutes as well and we have options in midfield. Like anybody else, everybody has to be ready. Everybody is going to have the chances to play.
"Then it's about performing and helping the team to win football matches.
"But his energy, his application and his will to help are unquestionable, and he's an unbelievable player for us."
The Arsenal boss was asked whether Max Dowman could be considered for a starting role in Champions League fixtures, with the youngster continuing to impress despite his age.
"It's another year in his career and he's shown that every time he's played with us, he has a lot to offer.
"So that would now be a matter of a choice from my side to pick him."
Arteta also addressed Dowman's response following the incident against Fleetwood, insisting that the teenager has returned to training in good spirits and that the experience should serve as an important learning opportunity.
"That's a chapter that is gone. It's a moment of learning for all of us and we move on.
"You learn from the not-so-good ones; you make sure that you learn from the great ones as well.
"He's been in great spirit. When you see the kid, and today we spent some time together talking about things in training, it's always super positive.
"When you're 16, you have a different way of looking at things and treating things, and that's what he brings to the team as well."
The Gunners boss confirmed that the squad have been particularly supportive of Dowman in recent days, stressing that their response reflects the youngster's character rather than any sense of blame.
"Yes, but I think we've all done that because that's the way you feel about somebody, not because he had any guilt or anything.
"It's because it's something human. When somebody is sad or feels vulnerable in a moment, what you do is you're there to help him.
"All the players are extremely conscious of that, and not only because of his age. It's because of the way Max is and the way he treats people.
"You just want to look after that kind of person, and the team has been very close to him."
Arteta also revealed that he had spoken directly with the youngster about his public comments, describing their relationship as one built on honesty and openness.
"I sat down with him and said: 'Did you see my press conference? What do you think?'
"Just honestly, because it's public. We just have this kind of relationship, and I think it's the way it should be. It's something different; he needs to tell me.
"That's the relationship we try to build with our players.
"He's in a good place, and in the end, he is going to come to a critical point in his career where he needs to learn about something that is going to be happening a few times every game for him.
"It's not only going to happen once or twice a season, but probably three or four times per game. He's going to have to go through these kinds of moments. He needs to master that because it's part of the game."
Asked about shirt-pulling incidents and the wider discussion surrounding such situations, Arteta suggested that he has plenty of footage illustrating how frequently they occur across football.
"I have a lot of clips about shirt pulls, grabs, so I have a massive library that we can talk about.
"We've been talking about one in particular, but I have a massive library that we can throw there to remind everybody what every team is going through."
Arteta expects a difficult encounter against Slavia Prague, having reviewed last season's meeting twice and identified several qualities that make the Czech side a dangerous opponent.
"I watched it back twice. It was tough because it's a really good team that are extremely well coached.
"Obviously, they've been almost 10 years together now, and they are a really, really competitive team, with a great mindset, some clear principles and concepts that they want to apply, and the way they navigate you through the game.
"So we know it's going to be a really difficult game."
The Arsenal manager was asked whether Declan Rice is one of the best midfielders in English football, but chose not to enter the debate, instead highlighting the midfielder's importance to his team.
"It's not for me to get into that debate. I love our players and Declan is one of them, a super important player.
"He's had an immense impact on the team and he needs to continue to do that.
"We are in October and there is obviously much more to do."
Arteta also discussed the importance of having two Spanish World Cup winners in his squad, despite neither being an automatic starter this season.
"They are playing a pivotal role. If we focus on the players who are starting, obviously that's something else.
"Mikel has started some games already, some important games, and he's coming from a World Cup, a very successful World Cup.
"We know the value of the players that we have in the squad. They need to feel important. I do think that they feel very important and we have to make sure that they continue like that.
"Because if they have that spirit and that belief within themselves every time they play, they will make things happen for the team to win the game."
With Arsenal facing a congested fixture list, Arteta emphasised the importance of players accepting their roles and making an impact even when they do not start.
"Yes, and accepting the role on the day. Everybody wants to start games, but I think this season and last season we have experienced some incredible moments from the players who have come in.
"That's going to be equally important, especially when you play every 72 hours."
The Arsenal boss was also asked about the medical process behind Saliba's recovery and how the defender was able to avoid surgery.
"That's more for a specialist than for me, but they looked at every option.
"They got some of the best leading people in the world with the injury that he had, and in the end they decided that the conservative way was the best route for him, especially with the history that Willy had.
"Everything has been assessed every week, every month with all of them, and the progress has been so good that we've got to the point where he's now fit and available to play."
Arteta also reflected on his relationship with the French defender, explaining how their bond has developed through years of working together and sharing success at Arsenal.
"I think we've always had a really honest relationship. It's probably better now because he's played a lot and we've been together, and we've had success together, and obviously that creates a bond between two people.
"While he's been away, I think we made sure that he had some time off because it's been an extremely demanding schedule for him in the last few years.
"Then he put in an incredible effort and amount of hours to get back.
"That's how William is. He does it in silence, he does his own thing.
"Every time he's around the team, he helps to maintain and improve the energy of the team."
With several centre-backs potentially available, Arteta was asked how he could accommodate Saliba, Ezri Konsa and Gabriel in the same team. The Arsenal boss was quick to dismiss the suggestion that having too many defensive options would represent a problem.
"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're going to have the opportunity to give players rest, to load the players and to manage the congestion of the players in a much better way than we've actually done.
"Ezri can play as a full-back, but I think his main position is as a centre-back. He can play right or left, and William is the same with the national team or here at Arsenal.
"That's going to be something really positive."
Finally, Arteta paid tribute to Slavia Prague manager Jindrich Trpisovsky, highlighting the remarkable achievement of spending a decade at the same club and the qualities required to sustain such a long-term relationship.
"He's ahead of me because he's been here 10 years now, no? It's a long time.
"That tells you the quality of, first, the person, because to stay for 10 years somewhere, I think you need to do a lot of things right, and they are not regarding tactics.
"It's about how you treat people, the culture you set up at the club, the way you present yourself, the way you treat external people, a lot of things.
"I think what he's done is remarkable, so congratulations to him.
"Tomorrow we will face each other, and it is going to be a difficult one."