Bukayo Saka has undoubtedly been Arsenal’s standout attacker and is arguably their best player, with many believing the team is struggling in his absence due to injury.
The English winger has been instrumental at the Emirates, contributing significantly to the team’s attacking play and making life easier for his teammates when he was fit. His injury has left a noticeable gap, and it’s clear from the Gunners’ recent results that they miss his presence. However, Saka is not the only key player whose absence has affected the team’s performance.
Just before Arsenal’s game against Aston Villa, the Gunners also lost William Saliba to injury, and the team struggled to secure a win in his absence. This highlighted the Frenchman’s importance to Arsenal, and statistical evidence supports the claim that he is as crucial to the team as Saka, if not more so.
According to data from Opta, Arsenal have conceded an average of 0.8 goals per game when Saliba is on the pitch since the start of the 2022/2023 season. In contrast, when Saliba is absent, as was the case in the Villa match, the Gunners have conceded an alarming 1.7 goals per game. This statistic underlines just how vital Saliba is to Arsenal’s defensive solidity, suggesting that the team may be too reliant on him.
Saliba’s status as a world-class defender is indisputable, and it’s clear that like most top teams, Arsenal rely heavily on their best players, especially when they are fully fit. His absence further emphasises the need for Arsenal to build a deeper squad to cope with injuries and maintain their competitive edge throughout the season.
Both Saka and Saliba are indispensable to the Gunners, and it is clear that their fitness will be key to Arsenal’s hopes of success this season. The challenge for Mikel Arteta and his team is finding a way to stay competitive when these key players are unavailable, as their absence exposes how heavily the team leans on them.
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It’s quite telling that our 2 best players are not Arteta signings (saka ,Saliba ).
My Grandad always said don’t trust anyone who uses boot polish on their hair .
Only just realised in the last 2 years what he ment .
He was a interpreter during world war 2 for context.
Too bad you will have to suffer it and those who celebrate his face for the next 2 years at least.
Rest assured you won’t be celebrating any trophies until then.
That’s my worry HH ,when you have complete clowns every match day giving excuses it makes you wonder what agenda they have .
Hopefully they do one when this fraud finally does one .
Especially when you have so called fans asking to get other fans banned on here (they know who they are )like they are princess Sheba .
Cringe as fck .
You are a such a dullard Dan K. You follow the unimaginative dribble that gets served up on social media these days. If a team loses a game it must be the managers fault. At least you are consistent, you wanted the manager out before he even started. Thank God educated supportes and Arsenal management understand football.
Might want to go back and check my comments regarding Arteta when he started before you call me a Dullard !
As for the rest of your post 😂
Yea Arsenal management understand football ,no trophies in 5 years ,yea it’s going great .
But remember Dan Kit,
No matter how many games we lose, Arteta is so proud of the boys. Ah ain’t that nice, it gives you a nice glow doesn’t it. (NOT). 🙄🤦♂️
OZGooner:
A real dullard who couldn’t write “Dan Kit” – its pseudonym – properly.
Dan iit.
Not even autocorrect could help.
The devil’s dandruff might be at work.
🫣
😕
There are genuine fans who really think Arteta is doing a fine job but you won’t find them giving excuses every single game.
The ones you are talking about after yesterday game I am now sure they are doing it on purpose. And perhaps they are not worth to bother about.
I don’t think they care about results or Arteta tbh. Arteta is just a front of something else. Some perhaps just like trampling over other fans.
Thankfully Mikel changed Saka from a Left Winger to a Right Winger.
What side were context on in WW2 ?…
“It’s quite telling that our 2 best players are not Arteta signings (saka ,Saliba)” – Please tell me who has coached them for almost the entirety of their Arsenal careers?
I wonder if the guy who has coached them into becoming world class players should get any credit?
The only world class players he has are the ones he inherited. Why can’t he coach the rest of the squad to be on par with Saka and Saliba?
Martinelli is as talented as Saka why is he regressing like the majority of Arteta players?
@Lucy78
The only reason they stand out is because of their raw talent and Arteta has nothing to do with that.
Raw talent is…..raw, unrefined etc. who made them special?
Lucy, Saka is not world class. The kind of stats he has isn’t remotely closed to be called class. A little above 100 in both goals and assists in 5 years is good but not in the class of world class.
Adiva,
Lets face it, the words world class are banded about to easily these days.
For some reason the pundits along with some fans feel the need to over hype players.
As is the case with our captain, he’s a good player. But nothing more, and nothing less.
Saliba is like VanDyke of Liverpool. Liverpool are doing well because of VD and M Salah.
And someone had to come all the way to make you understand what your grandfather told you – to interprete to you what an interpreter interpreted.
You should be grateful.
Not spiteful.
😁
Kudos Arteta.
You’re right. If anyone thinks Arteta should be given much credit, he should ask himself how many unused signings he has brought to the Emirates. Patrick viera, Sambi, Marquinhos, Tavares and those who have not changed anything at the club like Mikel Merino and Havertz. We would be having a world class goal scorer and a perfect Saka replacement if that money was used well.
Patrick is lacking in match fitness these days and his age isn’t on his side either
That said SueP,
I bet Patrick could still do a job for us, even at his age. 😊😉👍
Derek
Patrick Vieira probably could. Carrying a bit of timber but class is permanent From a golden age of football
We are a 1 or 2 man team.
When you think about our squad depth of 22 senior players + 2 youths in Nwaneri and MLS, it is extremely thin. When you add our injury prone players on top of that (KT, Tomi, Jesus, Partey) and the fact that we had to LOAN 2 senior players, our squad is non-existent. How can one look at this and decide, yep were good for the season?
DaJuhi,
And yet you had some fans saying that we’ve had good transfer windows in the last three seasons.
Something I don’t concur with. 🙄🤦♂️
It seems to me that White has become the forgotten man. All the fuss about Timber – very good – but so is White and he was the link between Saliba and Saka
Exactly correct 👍 thankfully, he is back in training.
That’s good news 👍
Love Ben white
This Arsenal team are so boring. Where is the creativity without Bukayo? (Yes Odegaard is good). I’m getting old now but I will never understand why Arteta is not signing a striker. Liverpool have many and can win even close games. For F sake Arteta sign a striker, it’s bloody obvious. Mikel Arteta, eternal number 2, second best. To win the league we need the best team….we don’t have the best team. Cheap is dear my old grandmother used to say….we are 2 players short of ever winning the PL. Buy a bloody top striker….before the players get fed up and leave.
The system is proved time and again to be flimsy and any slight change results in massive problems. Bigger than both Saka and Saliba, where points are lost is the changing of Partey to RB. A massive difference in expected points by doing it but the system is the big problem. it is not robust and does nt cope with any change well. But the manager persists all the same.
Can we all as gunners agree
1. Performance against Villa can be termed as a “one off” (for last week as we had 10 of these this season)
2. Trophies are not important, our support toward the club finances is important
3. We beat the Lilywhites which is more greater than winning the club world cup
4. While the above three are true for some fans, players, team management and owners, real players like Saliba and Saka will be looking for greener pastures. Saliba for sure.
5. When TP is played at RB, we always drop points. no matter Saliba is playing or not. Which means that Declan Rice is not the 105M solution to TP’s absence from CDM position. Very fine player but poor in this Arsenal team.
6. Mikel is not serious of winning anything other than Wenger’s Top Four Trophy, or else he would have parted ways with Zinny, Gabby J, Tomiyasu, all injury prone players who contribute nothing valuable, nor would he have hired misfits like Kai, Sterling or Jorginho, nor would he have let go ESR for Merino. What a cruel joke!
7. There are better managers who are actual coaches rather than a cheque book manager – Enzo, Ariola and Nuno come to my mind, so we should not accept the owners thought that there is no one out there better than Arteta. Hire Ariola and we would be run away champs with the squad we have and the talent in the reserves.
Have a nice week gunners.
Item 3. It’s just 3 points and bragging rights. That’s all!!!
The Shoba Reality Show,
I find myself agreeing with a lot of your points. A very well written piece if I may say so. 😉👍
I think these are quiet useless stats. I like both players but Saka gets the goals that usually bag the three points. Had we the right personnel in their correct positions covering Saliba’s absence we would have won. Simple fact.
Having used 2 seasons to build up the team, through sheer luck Arteta turned the team to be 2nd best in Epl and kudos to him for that feat as they played free flowing scintillating/ entertaining and Enterprising football for the last 2 seasons. I learnt that the players he instructed them to resort to the present drab and slow paced system, waiting for their opponents to close up on them before they will release ball and we can see the injuries from that. He arrogantly refused to
admit that the club needs lethal CF, that Kai and Gab. Jesus as CF’s Arsenal can never land Epl trophy and as a player Arteta never won it so that winning mentality is lacking. Tell me why after being 2nd best twice consecutively he went for Mikel Merino, Carlafori and Sterling. Give the same number of years and money that has been given to Mikel Arteta to the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Zidane, Inzaghi, Emery, Tuchel, Klopp, Conte and see if Arsenal’s quest for trophy wouldn’t have turn from story to glory. All this reunion with Man.City and Chelsea’s drop outs will never land Epl trophy. Sorry o 🙌 I am Arsenal fan not Arteta’s fan, a true fan of Arsenal Fc should think of the good of the club, Arteta is not a failure, he has done his best as he can, there’s nothing more in his think tank it’s time for him to leave. Soldier comes soldier goes and barracks remains.
“Pure luck” eh Okey?!
I wonder what he’ll achieve when all his players are available from their persistent injury problems?
Ken1945,
The season could be well and truly over by then sadly. 🤦♂️
As luck would have it Derek, I’m sure MA will survive… purely on luck as Okey would have us believe.
Actually, it seems the only real long-term injury is now just Saka and, as his return date is March, I think your being too pessimistic…. most unusual for you I must say 😂🤣
No Ken1945,
You got me wrong, that was me being optimistic.😂🤣😉👍
Same difference for you mate 😂😂👍👍
The problem of missing either or Saka or Saliba is the way Arteta deals with it. Saka plays a unique way, no other player plays that way in the squad. So change the way you play. When Saliba is out, don’t make unnecessary changes to try and cope. Or change the way you play. Dont compound it by poor management.
Reggie,
The words poor management and Arteta go together rather well don’t they.
Agree with your post Reggie, you can’t make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear.
The most frustrating part is MA has tried this more than once, saw it didn’t work, but carries on doing it!!
I have no problem with MA trying his system out, as that’s what he’s getting paid to do… manage the squad.
But to persevere when it doesn’t work is negligence of the highest order.