Cesc Fabregas believes William Saliba produced a "complete performance" as Arsenal ran out 3-1 winners over Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby on Saturday afternoon.
The 21-year-old was superb as Mikel Arteta's side recorded their seventh victory from eight Premier League matches and continued their 100% winning start at home this season. Thomas Partey gave the Gunners the lead in the 20th minute with a rasping strike, before Harry Kane equalised from the penalty spot.
But Arsenal began the second-half the brighter of the two sides and again took the lead as Gabriel Jesus pounced on a mistake by Hugo Lloris to tap home from close-range. Spurs' task of getting back into the game became difficult when Emerson Royal was sent off for a late challenge on Gabriel Martinelli, to the surprise of Antonio Conte.
It went from bad to worse for Spurs as Granit Xhaka added a third, but it was Saliba who took the plaudits from Fabregas after the game. The former Gunners captain claimed that Saliba was the "best player on the pitch" although Xhaka was named as the Player of the Match.
Fabregas, 35, told BT Sport : "That was a fantastic complete performance. I’d like to mention the special name, the fact he was so good he made it look easy is William Saliba.
"I’m sorry but this boy was in France on loan and I was watching him very closely because an ex-Arsenal scout asked me three years ago when we were playing St Etienne in a cup match. I was rested so I was in the stand, he said 'watch this boy, I want to sign him'.
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"He was 18, 19 and he was the best player on the pitch so that shows you the potential of this guy, he looks so easy, he could be Arsenal’s centre-back for the next 15 to 20 years."
Saliba won possession 11 times against Tottenham - more than any other player in the history of the north London derby. He has also won possession more times than any other defender in the Premier League this season (71), proving why Arteta is right to start him after impressing on loan at Marseille last term.
Rio Ferdinand also praised the defender and claimed he has got a lot of character to stand up to pressurised situations. He said: "I think his composure, he’s very strong, mobile but it’s the composure in the pressure situations. He was the most composed centre-back on the pitch today - especially for Arsenal.
"There was times today where in transition, Arsenal could’ve got hurt but how many times did we see him come out with the ball. At the top level, you need to be calm, composed in these situations and at the moment, he’s showing that beyond his years but he has had to be patient and going away which shows he’s got character.
"I’m sure he’ll have a good career going here, he’s only been here short amount of time but he’s already become a fan favourite."
