Alan Shearer delivers brutal Arsenal response to injury blow - 'the money they've spent'

Alan Shearer has claimed that Arsenal will receive little sympathy from their Premier League rivals after William Saliba’s injury blow. The Gunners look set to be without the defender for the next month after the ankle injury he picked up ahead of the defeat to Liverpool prior to the international break.

Summer signing Cristhian Mosquera was introduced in his place at Anfield and performed relatively well. The Spaniard - signed for a reported £13m from Valencia in the summer - is expected to deputise until Saliba returns.

Premier League icon Shearer has claimed that while Saliba’s absence will undoubtedly impact Arsenal, they will not receive any comfort from their rivals, given their eye-watering £255m summer outlay.

Speaking to Betfair, Shearer said: “Saliba has been a big player for them for a while and they'll be a lesser team for it unfortunately, but you won't get too much sympathy because of who and what they are, the money that they've spent and the squad that they've got there.

“That happens to all the big boys when you spend a fortune. You're not going to get too much sympathy from rival clubs. There's no doubt Saliba will be a big miss for Arsenal because he's such a good player.”

Just as Shearer has his concerns, the same can be said of ex-Arsenal defender Gael Clichy. The Frenchman praised Mosquera for his performance for Liverpool but claimed the pressure will now be on him to keep those levels up.

“I wouldn’t say they should be feeling too safe or secure because coming off the bench and starting a game are two different things,” he said to Metro.

“Starting a game when people know you are going to start, they [the opposition] will have analysed your game during the week, looking at your weaknesses and strengths.

“Coming into a game when no one is expecting you, having not analysed how you play [is different]. He will have been thinking about this [for] the last two weeks thinking, ‘this is my time, I cannot mess around and miss this opportunity’.

“He has to deliver and get to the level of William because he may only have a few weeks. This is a different story. When you come in, of course you can crumble. I’m not going to say it’s easier [coming into a game like that] but no one expects you to do anything.

“You were on the bench, you were not expected to play. Now, you will have had two weeks to think about what can go right and what can go wrong.”

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