Mikel Arteta made Arsenal's defensive even stronger in the summer, but William Saliba's return from injury ahead of their trip to Slavia Prague in the Champions League gives him a dilemma

Mikel Arteta is spoilt. The Arsenal manager doesn't just have the best two centre-backs in the Premier League, he might well have the best three.

Ezri Konsa has been outstanding since his £55million move from Aston Villa, helping Arsenal keep six clean sheets in the 10 games he's started. The England international was fast-tracked into the Gunners' starting XI in the absence of William Saliba, who picked up a serious injury at the World Cup.

But now Saliba is back in full training and Arteta has a dilemma on his hands. The Frenchman has travelled to Czechia for Arsenal's Champions League clash with Slavia Prague and could make his first appearance for his club since May.

We'll likely see Saliba start on the bench and come on as a second-half substitute. Beyond Wednesday, however, Arteta must decide whether to ruthlessly drop Konsa or make Saliba wait his turn, as the battle to be Arsenal's right-sided centre-back hots up.

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As seen in the Gunners' last three Premier League games, Konsa has struck up a rock-solid partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes. The pair limited Nottingham Forest, Everton and Liverpool to just three big chances combined and didn't concede a single goal.

Putting Saliba straight back in after such a long time out risks upsetting the apple cart and stunting Konsa's progress at the Emirates, having comfortably been Arsenal's signing of the season so far. The 29-year-old may be four years older than his returning team-mate but he could still end up Gabriel's long-term partner should Real Madrid act on their interest in Saliba and prise him away.

Saliba, of course, has been there and done it. The fact that France had only shipped two goals in six games before he went off injured in July's semi-final against Spain speaks volumes.

There is, though, one solution that could please both players and keep Gabriel in the side. Konsa has the ability to play at right-back, although that'd leave Jurrien Timber, Ben White and Cristian Mosquera twiddling their thumbs.

Arsenal's premature exit from the Carabao Cup gives Arteta less opportunity for rotation, especially with their next two Champions League fixtures coming against Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. Ultimately, Saliba's return is a major boost but does bring with it a headache for Arteta.

"He's in a really good place," the Gunners boss said. "I think the process and the timings and in the manner that the injury has been dealt with, and especially the feelings that Willy has been having along the way, they've been very, very positive.

"So, 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.

"Willy is somebody that 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 now we need to give him the right moment, the right amount of minutes and hopefully that's going to be very soon."