William Saliba had been sensational for Arsenal so far in the early weeks of the campaign. The Frenchman had bought a sense of calmness and assertiveness to Mikel Arteta’s defence which was evidently lacking last season. More interestingly, he has also added speed to the backline, which is also crucial to playing a high line.
However, the 21-year-old has had a difficult spell recently as proven in Arsenal’s match against Southampton and against PSV where the Gunners lost their first Europa League game. It is clear that Saliba needs to be taken out of the limelight every so often due to his age, as playing Thursday and Sunday is having an impact on him, just like it is for many players in the team.
But, with the lack of quality options in the centre-back department, it means that the Frenchman is forced to play in the midweek fixtures, alongside Rob Holding who is not at the level required for Arsenal to compete with the top teams in Europe, which also puts more pressure on Saliba to lead the defence. It is because of this that Edu must use the January transfer window to ease the pressure on Saliba.
