Jamie Carragher has dismissed the 'myth' around Arsenal's defensive struggles after their Premier League title challenge was all but ended on Sunday.
Needing to respond to Man City's win at Everton, the Gunners turned in arguably their most abject display of the season at home to Brighton. Mikel Arteta's team were beaten 3-0, meaning City just need one win from their final three games to be crowned champions - having trailed their rivals by nine points at one stage.
Many have cited the injury to Saliba, whose season was ended in March when he was forced off with a back injury in Arsenal's Europa League clash with Sporting Lisbon, as a major turning point. The Frenchman had previously been in outstanding form for his side, with his partnership with fellow centre-back Gabriel integral to Arteta's side charge to the top of the table.
During his absence, Arsenal stumbled to three successive draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton, before being hammered 4-1 by Man City as the pendulum in the race truly swung. But Carragher has argued the warning signs were there long before Saliba left the field for treatment on March 16.
The Sky Sports pundit outlined stats that showed in 14 league games prior to the World Cup, Arsenal conceded just 11 goals and kept seven clean sheets. After the tournament in Qatar though, Arsenal shipped 14 goals in 13 games whilst Saliba was still fit, with five clean sheets - before 17 went past them in nine matches (only one clean sheet) following the injury.
"It tells you that, after the World Cup, they were looking completely different defensively," said Carragher, on Sky's Monday Night Football show. "They were still getting the results, but they were conceding goals.
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"Then, without Saliba, they drop even further. Yes, that's where they have lost it, and with Saliba, they were still top of the league, but this idea that they weren't conceding goals, or looking vulnerable, with Saliba at centre-back is a myth."
Carragher, 45, made a total of 508 Premier League appearances for Liverpool, many of which came in the centre of defence. And despite his arguments, he backed Saliba to develop into a player capable of matching previous greats.
"When you think of title winners, you go through players in my position: Vincent Kompany, Virgil van Dijk, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Jaap Stam, John Terry," he continued. "When I look at Arsenal's centre-backs, I don't think they've quite got one of those yet - even though Saliba may become that."
