Arsenal may reportedly be granted permission by the Premier League to field defender William Saliba before the end of the season.

The Gunners splashed out around £27m to sign the teenage centre-back last summer and agreed to let him stay on loan with Saint-Etienne for the 2019-20 campaign.

Saliba does not technically become an Arsenal player until July 1, but with the Ligue 1 campaign being curtailed he is now free to start training with his parent club.

According to The Mirror, Mikel Arteta may attempt to exploit a loophole by pleading with league officials to let him use the Frenchman due to exceptional circumstances.

Pablo Mari has been ruled out for the season with an ankle injury and fellow centre-back David Luiz is suspended for two games.

However, Arteta can still choose from Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Rob Holding, so their wish is unlikely to be granted.

Saliba was limited to just 11 Ligue 1 starts this season due to injury issues of his own.