Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace: Mikel Arteta injury update on William Saliba, Declan Rice and more as team ahead in title race

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed that Gabriel Martinelli, Declan Rice, William Saliba and Riccardo Calafiori all suffered injury problems against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Gunners beat the Eagles 1-0 at the Emirates thanks to a goal from former Palace star Eberechi Eze in the first half, and the win means they have now collected 22 points from their first nine games and are first in the table.

Arteta's side are six points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City and seven points ahead of seventh-placed Manchester City, but the head coach will hope that his side's form is not derailed by injuries.

The Londoners were forced to make numerous substitutions against Palace, and Arteta appeared more concerned about Saliba and Martinelli, when he told reporters: "The first one was [Saliba] that obviously had to be out after the first half. Declan as well was struggling from the first half with a knock that he took.

"[Calafiori], as well. So yeah, let’s see how they recover. On [Saliba], there are two things related to his substitution and with Declan I don't really know because it was a knock. But I don't know if it was the calf or the Achilles or what exactly it was.

“We have to check [Martinelli]. He was a bit uncomfortable. He said he felt something. We don’t know whether it’s a muscular issue or not. Tomorrow we’ll have more news."

Arteta added that he removed Bukayo Saka as a precaution as the attacker was battling illness, though he should be fit moving forward.

Can Arsenal cope without William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli?

Arsenal have only conceded three times in the Premier League this season, and they have kept five consecutive clean sheets in all competitions.

Saliba has been an integral part of the Gunners' backline for a number of seasons, but the club have shown that they can deal without him given they kept two clean sheets in the two games he missed this term when he was out injured after picking up an injury against Liverpool in August.

As for Martinelli, the winger has endured a mixed 2025-26, starting two times in the Premier League, and he has only scored once and is yet to provide an assist.

Though fans will hope that the Brazilian winger is not out for an extended period, the team have several options that could feature on the flanks, including the likes of Leandro Trossard and Eze.

Why are Arsenal so far ahead of Liverpool and Manchester City?

Arteta has been criticised for relying on set-piece goals to get victories, with the club scoring 11 of their 16 Premier League goals from dead-ball situations.

However, Liverpool conceded twice from set pieces when they lost 3-2 against Brentford on Saturday, while Manchester City lost 1-0 against Aston Villa on Sunday after conceding from a corner.

Arsenal's combative but cautious playstyle has helped them deal with the increasing physicality of the Premier League, and unless their title rivals can improve in those areas, it is difficult to see anybody stopping them from finishing first.

The Gunners' defensive resilience means they will also rarely lose games, and their ability to avoid defeat makes their floor much higher than teams like Liverpool, who have already conceded 14 times in the top flight.