Speaking recently on The Molineux View podcast, Tim Spiers provided an update on the condition of Wolverhampton Wanderers defender, Romain Saiss.
Since joining Wolves from SCO Angers in what was a £3.6 million deal back in 2016, Saiss has gone on to feature 151 times for the club, chipping in with 10 goals and providing three assists along the way.
So far this season, the £9 million-rated 30-year-old has made six Premier League appearances for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, scoring one goal and averaging a highly impressive WhoScored match rating of 7.04 – ranking him as the club’s third-best performer in the top flight.
However, after being called up for international duty with Morocco, Saiss returned and had to self-isolate prior to returning to the club, ruling him out of Monday’s 1-1 draw with Southampton.
And, speaking on a recent episode of The Molineux View podcast, Spiers claimed it looks likely the centre-back will remain unavailable for selection for the club’s Premier League fixture against Arsenal this coming weekend.
He said: “I think he was saying [on Monday] it doesn’t look like he’s going to be available for Arsenal – that’s certainly what I inferred from what Nuno was saying.
“I’d be surprised if he was going to play at the Emirates. I mean, even if he’s technically available, if he’s not been training, a la Coady, then he might not feature.
“But, you know, he hasn’t been in the first team of late, anyway. So, it seems like Coady will be available at Arsenal, but Saiss, probably not.”
TIF Thoughts on Tim Spiers’ comments regarding Romain Saiss…
From Spiers’ comments, it would seem as if the journalist is of the belief that Saiss will indeed remain unavailable for selection for the Arsenal fixture.
Without Saiss and Coady available on Monday, Espirito Santo deployed a four-man defence for the first time in his spell as Wolves manager, with the side operating in a 4-3-3 formation against Southampton, rather than his more accustomed formation which includes three centre-backs.
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And, considering this weekend’s opponents have scored just nine league goals so far this season, the same number as 18th placed Fulham, perhaps this is a formation that Espirito Santo could deploy once again against Arsenal, considering the likely absence of Saiss and Mikel Arteta’s side’s apparent lack of attacking threat.