William Saliba received his first red in Arsenal colors in the unfortunate 2-0 loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League.
The French defender has been an ever-present in the Arsenal back line, forging an amazing telepathic partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes, and together, they were part of the best defense in the Premier League, notching up 18 clean sheets in the Premier League last season.
The clean sheets continued this campaign, with Arsenal notching them up in the early season fixtures against Wolves, Aston Villa and Tottenham, and in as much as David Raya was lauded for his goalkeeping heroics, there have been moments when Saliba was instrumental in preserving the clean sheet – that crunch tackle on Dominic Solanke after a sloppy pass comes to mind.
However, Saliba was put in a rather unfortunate situation against Bournemouth when Leandro Trossard inexplicably drifted a stray pass in behind the defense, allowing Evanilson to get clean on goal as he ran into space. Some may argue that Saliba had the pace to close down Evanilson with Ben White attempting the double up, but the French defender took the cynical option and scythed down that Brazilian striker.
He had initially escaped with just a yellow card from Rob Jones, but after a VAR review, the decision was changed and Saliba was sent off.
What do the stats say about William Saliba’s matches for Arsenal
Bournemouth v Arsenal Premier League 19/10/2024. Red Card – Referee Robert Jones cancels the yellow card after checking VAR before sending off William Saliba 2 of Arsenal for a foul denying a goal scoring chance during the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, England on 19 October 2024. Bournemouth Vitality Stadium Dorset England Editorial use only DataCo restrictions apply See www.football-dataco.com , Copyright: xGrahamxHuntx PSI-20632-0248
Saliba is certainly going to miss the weekend clash against Liverpool and he’s going to be a very huge miss. The Daily Mail has published some stats to show how vital the French defender has been for Arsenal.
(via The Daily Mail)
The win percentage with Saliba on the pitch is staggering and the Gunners will have their work cut out to come up with the goods in his stead. I’d be expecting Jurrien Timber to come back to the side to play alongside Gabriel but there are still fitness concerns with him. If he’s not fit enough to play the game, Arteta might be forced to deploy Thomas Partey as an unorthodox right back, with Ben White tucking in alongside Gabriel.
We would expect Saliba back in action when Arsenal visit St. James Park to take on Newcastle, but we hope the lads can soldier on without him against Liverpool and come up with the goods.
