Across London, at Stamford Bridge, only Raheem Sterling has scored more than one goal this season. At Arsenal, five players have already scored two or more in eight matches, and one is defender William Saliba.
The 21-year-old has arguably been the Premier League's best player so far this term - Erling Haaland may want a word - and his form demonstrates something the Gunners have seen in him all along. Having loaned the Frenchman out to Saint-Etienne, then to Nice and then Marseille, his development was largely out of Mikel Arteta's hands. His progress has been impressive, though.
There has been high-level interest in taking him away from the Emirates in the chance that Arsenal wasn't willing to use him this season, but Arteta's plan has come together brilliantly and now has one of the most exciting and dominating defenders in Europe on his hands.
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Saliba's £27m price tag as a teenager raised eyebrows, but a realistic value on his head now would be more than double that, and if offers had come in this summer then he they would have recouped their money comfortably even without a Premier League appearance on his resume.
Now he has eight games played, he looks like he's played 80 - at least - such is the ease in which he has taken to life playing in England's top tier. His rise hasn't been a surprise for former Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna though. Back in 2020, he made a wild prediction for the 19-year-old.
Speaking about what to expect from Saliba when he gets his chance, Sagna said, "First, he will need to adapt to English football. Speaking to Goal, he added: "He is a big prospect for the future, but Arsenal need him to perform as soon as he starts. He is aware of that probably, but he has a lot of qualities, and he will learn fast. Hopefully, he will achieve good things and become one of the best centre-backs in the league."
Having conceded eight goals in eight games so far, there is still room to improve, but with three clean sheets to his name and some expert skill already on show, he has arguably been the best defender in the league already, albeit with such a small sample size.
Sagna continued: "Saliba is very confident in defending. He is not afraid to defend one against one, and most of the time, he wins the duels, which is the best quality as a defender. You need some security, you need some presence, and he has that.
"For him, staying in the French league after signing for Arsenal was the best decision he could make because he knew he was going to change to a bigger club, but he knew he had to improve his performances. It was like a test, he had to step up his game during this season, and the last game I watched of him was amazing. I analysed him as an Arsenal fan, and he did very well."
Fans and pundits were somewhat critical of Arsenal for not using Saliba last season, whilst Arteta struggled initially and spent big to bring in Ben White. Now the pair are playing together and getting the best of both worlds. The centre-back looks like he's been a part of this defence for a long time already, and even as a young player is showing hints of becoming one of the best. It's drawn him comparisons to some of the best players and young-stars to play the game.
"Someone who has always said don't speak about my age is Kylian Mbappe," said the former France international. "When he started saying this, he was 19, and now he's one of the best strikers in the world. If he [Saliba] believes he can be as good as Van Dijk, he's probably been watching his games and analysing them. It's about hard work.
"If you want to be the best at the back, it's all about work and belief."
Mbappe, having also forged his career in France, is still one of the best forwards in the world two-years later, and Van Dijk would win player of the years shortly after Sagna's interview. Saliba has a long way to go to get to those levels, but his start has been of the highest quality.
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