Considering that William Saliba has not kicked a ball for Arsenal since the Gunners bought him for 27m over two years ago, he is one of the most talked about loan players in our history.
This season he is plying his trade at Marseille, and is winning great plaudits for his exploits, despite only being 20 years of age.
So far he has played the full 90 minutes in 14 games for OM, and yesterday they faced their toughest test yet, when the star-studded PSG side came to visit, but Saliba and his team-mates became the first team to stop PSG scoring even one goal.
The best chance of the game fell to the prolific Mbappe, but he was stopped in his tracks by Saliba….
Not bad, eh? https://t.co/ksnv57hjJ5
— JustArsenalVids (@JustArsenalVids) October 25, 2021
Better angle… https://t.co/YUNQIVckjS
— JustArsenalVids (@JustArsenalVids) October 25, 2021
If he had got that wrong, it would have meant a defeat for Marseille and probably as sending off too.
It may be worth mentioning that he has only had 2 yellow cards in his 14 games, which is pretty good for a young centre-back…
Actually in this instance Saliba got wrong side so although he made contact with the ball Mbappe was still standing and in control of the football so Saliba had to put in a blatent vicious folow through tackle which could have been a red card as well as injuring his opponent. Not good at all.
@fairfan
He actually did enough to put MmmBopp off, by making contact with the ball first. Quick dude didn’t have control at all, he was too busy fluffing his lines diving to try and get the penalty. A real striker would have recovered as soon as Saliba went to ground and been in on goal…IJS
It looks like the ref is signaling for a free kick so Mbappe is beyond the last defender so should have been a red card unless their VAR overturned the decision. If a free kick was awarded it was also in perfect position for a Messi curler. Either outcome could have cost OM the game.
FF strikes again…too bad, so sad
Always thought MmmBopp was overrated. One of those track stars converted into a footballer. Not so easily fooled, yet easily pocketed by real no nonsense defenders…
Saliba is showing, he’s that type of defender.
And Arteta is soon going to be exposed as another Ole Gunnar….IJS
Your beloved Arteta is slowly destroying this team. We are even protecting him, so that he can make further damage. Seliba, Gouendouzi, Willock, Nelson, Lacazette, Maitland-Niles, Torreira are suddenly not good enough for Arteta. Even those that he bought like Soares, White, and Partey will soon leave the club. Willian is already gone. Do you think that all of these players are at fault? Let’s just make analysis of Arteta without fear or favour
How miserable do you have to be to come bash Arteta in the midst of a six-match unbeaten run and fresh off the back of arguably our most convincing win of the season? And to say that White—who quite literally JUST ARRIVED AT THE CLUB—will soon be leaving is just asinine.
Of the players you listed, the only ones who are true Arsenal quality are Saliba, Laca, and Guendouzi. The former is getting invaluable experience right now and will be ready for us next season OR sold for much more than we paid for him, the latter is a chemistry cancer and is hopefully sold no matter how talented, and I’m not sure why you’re referring to Laca here—Arteta just started him on Friday, he’s clearly one of our leaders and best players and his game time is coming. In fact, I’d argue his newfound spirit and tenacity is directly linked to Arteta removing him from the starting XI.
I don’t get what the fuss is all about, we have three impressive CBs and fans would rather turn on the manager because of their love for a player above others.
Have anyone seen Holding, Chambers, Mari, Soares getting gametime since our first choice defenders all got back together?
No, you’ve not, you’d rather Saliba stay on the bench queue with them instead of getting gametime there and getting more experience there, knowing that we ain’t even in Europe this season.
Next season we’ll have three of the best youngest center backs but all you guys wanna do is whine about Saliba not being at the club this season.
City have, Dias, Laporte, Ake, Stones, Liverpool have Matip, Van Djik and Konate.
Why not just focus on our quality depth and support the three center backs we have too? It’s not like the club is selling Saliba at the end of the season
No offence intended but I don’t think you get what these whiners are all about. Their main focus is to find a some way, however tenuous or ridiculous, to come on here to denigrate Arteta.
I would bet that many of those complaining have not actually seen Saliba play.
Consider some of the “world class” players that they claim Arteta has apparently “ruined” : Holding, Chambers, Nelson, Torreira etc. These are the the players that some fans believe are good enough to make Arsenal a shoo-in for a top 4 spot.
Or have an opinion.
Wow, what a performance. Come back Saliba next season, Arsenal needs you. You will make our defence stronger, more dominant and reliable.
I thought it was a foul.
Saliba was loaned out to gain valuable experience, and we have a good pairing of Gabs & Ben. Next season will need Saliba as we will be in Europe again and the tough fixture list would mean having top top players avaliable to play twice a week. Saliba is on his growth trajectory and that is why he has been sent to a good team to gain experience.What a master stroke by Mikel! There will always be winners and whinners. Those with myopic eyes cannot see or understand the long term plan Mikel has for us. All his players – Aaron, Ben,Tomiyasu, Gabriel, Partey, Nuno, Sambi have done very well. ESR, Saka have been groomed perfectly. Give Mikel the due credit he deserves. A CDM & a striker will do the trick for Mikel and make us contenders. If we can get them in Jan, we could be in UCL next season itself.
Not having seen Saliba in a competitive match over 90 mins, I cannot judge his strengths and weaknesses.However,if he is as good as some on JA are making out, I suspect the likes of PSG may well come calling for his services.You never know, we might just get an offer of around 50m which would effectively cover the fee for Ben White?
Why sell Saliba if he comes good and his value rises? We can move Holding, Chambers, and Mari first. We are not in financial crisis, and selling a prize CB without even getting to play for Arsenal would be short-sighted.
Seen enough of Holding, Chambers, and Mari to see they are not the quality needed to challenge for titles and CL.
Gabriel is our best CB by a ways, curious to see who is second best, Saliba or White.
If WS refuses to extend his stay @ the Emirates( Not the
Rosiest relationship with MA) the club may have to
entertain moving him on @ the conclusion of the
season, especially if the young Frenchmen continues
to shine in Ligue 1.
I would hate to see it come to fruition but if as Gdad
mentioned PSG comes calling with bags of cash Edu
and MA may have to consider it.
He is getting valuable experience and has had some good games. He is not “as good as some on JA are making out”.
He may yet reach that level but is not there yet.
i have rated him highly and i believe he is a better player then White. Hope he plays for us next season.