Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is reluctant to "quantify" the impact of William Saliba's absence on their title collapse.
Since the Frenchman suffered his back injury, Arsenal have seen their Premier League leadership eroded to where Manchester City overtook them on Sunday.
On Saliba, Arteta said this morning: "I don't know, he's an important player but I don't know how to quantify.
"I don't know how to quantify when Gabriel Jesus has been out for four months, Nketiah for three months, Emile Smith Rowe for four and a half months, Kieran Tierney out for a few weeks, Tomiyasu out for three-and-a-half months, maybe now six months.
"This is football."