William Saliba was the width of the centre circle away from Jacob Ramsey when the midfielder was despatched by on aim late on at Villa Park. Someway, although, he made up the bottom, reeling him in in entrance of an expectant Holte Finish to brilliantly block his shot.
The fist-pumping Arsenal celebrations that adopted typified a “love for defending” highlighted by Mikel Arteta in dialog with Sky Sports activities in March. Such reactions are inspired, he defined, “in order that defensive actions are valued as a lot as attacking ones.”
Arsenal actually wanted that stage of defensive dedication on Saturday. Not simply within the closing levels, after Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey’s objectives, however earlier within the half, when their field was beneath siege and the stadium crackled with anticipation.
Arsenal gamers rejoice William Saliba’s last-ditch sort out on Jacob Ramsey
Arsenal had been, after all, indebted to David Raya for his sensational save from Ollie Watkins throughout that interval. Trossard’s opener, scored together with his first contact after coming off the bench, was essential too. But it surely was Saliba who held all of it collectively, as he so usually does.
Final weekend’s win over Wolves had introduced an uncharacteristic error, his errant cross nearly gifting Matheus Cunha a aim. However, together with his sharpness restored by one other week of coaching following a brief pre-season, this was the French worldwide at his greatest.
Highlights from Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa
In an often-frantic recreation, in opposition to an opponent, the solely opponent, who beat Arsenal twice within the Premier League final 12 months, Saliba was a totem of calm, touching the ball extra instances than another participant on the pitch and finishing all however considered one of his 88 passes.
As others erred within the feverish ambiance, speeding passes, miscontrolling beneath stress, or, within the case of his centre-back companion Gabriel, being dispossessed deep in Arsenal territory for a golden probability Watkins ought to have buried, Saliba was unaffected.
The gorgeous last-ditch problem to disclaim Ramsey was considered one of quite a few defensive interventions which caught the attention. Saliba made extra tackles and extra clearances than any of his team-mates over the course of the sport. No one on both facet gained extra duels.
William Saliba excelled in Arsenal’s win over Aston Villa
His velocity and physicality had been wanted in opposition to Watkins. “In the event that they [Villa] put the ball in our final line and also you’re man to man, you higher be bodily as a result of it has to go our means,” smiled Arteta afterwards. However there’s intelligence to Saliba’s recreation in addition to brute drive.
At instances, he intervened with out even needing to make a problem, nudging Watkins except for a protracted cross earlier than ducking beneath the ball to let it run by to Raya, then nonchalantly stepping onto a Morgan Rogers cut-back as if it was a cross from a team-mate.
Regardless of the one-on-one prowess of Rogers and Leon Bailey in Villa’s assault, and the driving runs of Amadou Onana from midfield, Saliba was not dribbled previous as soon as. Though that isn’t uncommon.
The truth is, Saliba has solely been overwhelmed 11 instances in 67 video games since he made his Premier League debut for Arsenal two years in the past.
It really works out as solely 0.16 cases of being dribbled previous per 90 minutes. For the reason that begin of the 2022/23 season, no Premier League defender, not even Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, can beat that.
It’s hardly shocking, given his high quality, that Arsenal have come to lean on him so closely. Their excellent defensive document final season was after all a collective effort. However Saliba’s contribution, as their solely participant to play each minute of the marketing campaign, was large.
Their reliance on him proved expensive within the season earlier than that, when a again damage brought about him to overlook Arsenal’s ultimate 11 Premier League video games of the marketing campaign and their title problem collapsed.
Their document with and with out him highlights his significance. Arsenal’s win price drops from 76.1 per cent to 45.5 per cent when he’s unavailable. They concede twice as many objectives and permit their opponents roughly 30 per cent extra touches of their field.
At the same time as Saliba shone so brightly at Villa Park on Saturday, although, there was encouragement, within the type of two new faces in Arsenal’s defence, that their reliance on him could now be eased.
Jurrien Timber, spectacular at left-back after damage ruined his first season at Arsenal, is a pure centre-back who appears to be like a high-calibre various. So too does summer season signing Riccardo Calafiori, who appeared from the bench to make his Premier League bow.
Watch David Raya’s unbelievable save from Ollie Watkins from all angles
“I like what Timber did,” mentioned Sky Sports activities’ Gary Neville on the Gary Neville Podcast. “Leon Bailey is a troublesome buyer to play in opposition to and I assumed he did a superb job. And Calafiori, when he got here on, seemed combative, actually robust and up for the battle.”
Like Saliba, and certainly his centre-back companion Gabriel, each Timber and Calafiori are succesful dominating opponents bodily. They’ve the flexibility to play at full-back but additionally give Arsenal a stage of centre-back depth to rival that of title rivals Manchester Metropolis.
“Pep Guardiola has utterly remodeled his staff from being diminutive to being a staff of giants and Mikel Arteta has responded,” added Neville. “They had been put beneath actual stress from set-pieces in these final 25 minutes they usually dealt with it rather well. They’re a powerhouse staff now.
Gary Neville provides his verdict on David Raya’s show in opposition to Aston Villa
“If you’re taking part in in opposition to a extremely prime staff and you have to preserve a clear sheet, you have to be sure to’ve acquired somebody who can defend on the again put up, and you have to guarantee that on set-pieces you’ve got acquired six massive’uns. Arteta has acquired that now.”
Most significantly, although, he has acquired Saliba, a participant who typifies that bodily dominance and whose efficiency at Villa Park was a reminder that he has cool-headedness and composure to match. Even with Timber and Calafiori sharing the load, count on Saliba to proceed main Arsenal’s defensive celebrations.
