William Saliba was the unsung hero in Arsenal’s late triumph over Pep Guardiola’s side on Sunday, 8th of October in the English Premier League game.
The French defender was outstanding in his performance against the Cityzens. He won all his duels, completed 97% of his passes, and notably didn’t allow Erling Haaland a single touch.
The 22-year-old defender’s excellent performance against the Norwegian striker earned him praise from both pundits and supporters.
Several pictures of the first-half combat of stability involving Saliba and Haaland were exceptional on all media platforms. In the 38th minute of action between the two teams, Man City had a clear chance to leave Haaland one-on-one with Saliba but the striker was nowhere to be found.
Erling Haaland had one of the most disappointing performances during Sunday’s 1-0 loss away to Arsenal since his move to Manchester.
The last season’s highest goalscorer, who scored an incredible 52 goals in 53 games in all competitions was kept in the pocket by William Saliba at the Emirates Stadium.
The French defender has been in incredible form since the beginning of the 2023/2024 Premier League campaign and also produced a wonderful play against the current treble winners.
William Saliba won 100% of his ground and aerial duels, provided 97% pass accuracy, had zero fouls committed, and was not dribbled past once over the full 90 minutes.
Incredibly, Saliba has not been dribbled past once during his past eight Premier League outings this season so far. Likewise, the France player has only committed two fouls during his previous matches.
The defender has been portrayed as former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand, one of the greatest defenders the Premier League has ever produced. Meanwhile, it’s safe to say that the Gunners have a Rolls Royce of center-back in the 22-year-old.
William Saliba signed a new long-term deal with Arsenal in July and certainly has the chance to secure his status as one of the club’s greatest defenders if he keeps up the fine form over the coming years.
Arsenal’s defensive duos produced a world-class performance against Manchester City
The Gunners center-backs had a gigantic performance in the team’s 1-0 win against the current Premier League champions.
Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have established themselves as one of the best defensive duos in the Premier League and the Gunners appear on the program for another long title rivalry.
Arsenal will be hoping that William Saliba can stay without injury throughout the season and the club looks forward to ending their two decades of the Premier League title wait.
Saliba’s back injury really caused the Gunners a lot last season as the club fell off the title race in the last minute of the 2022/2023 EPL campaign.
However, following their victory against Man City on Sunday, October 8, the Gunners moved to second position in the Premier League table, with the same points as their arc rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Man City, on the other hand, fell to the third position with two points behind the North London club sides.
What’s next for William Saliba?
According to reports, the French defender has been ruled out for the upcoming International games due to a toe injury he sustained against Man City.
Meanwhile, the 22-year-old will be looking forward to being in action for Arsenal after the International break when Mikel Arteta’s men will lock horns against struggling Chelsea in a bid to maintain their winning streak in the league.
