£27m Arsenal star accused of being ‘off it’ and ‘getting caught out’ against Porto

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Journalist Charles Watts was not impressed by what he saw from William Saliba for Arsenal against Porto.

Arsenal centre-back William Saliba was not at his best against Porto on Wednesday evening.

The Gunners were beaten 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash in Portugal. However, things could certainly have been even worse for the north London club, as the hosts had their chances to score even more in the match.

Arsenal have been extremely impressive defensively this season, especially in the last few weeks. They have only conceded twice in their last five Premier League matches. In the top flight of English football, no team has conceded fewer goals than Arsenal so far in the current campaign.

Saliba has been a huge factor in this defensive solidity. The £27 million centre-back has been an ever-present figure at the back for Mikel Arteta’s side. He has also thrived due to his partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes, who also deserves plenty of credit for his role in the side.

However, Saliba was certainly guilty of some sloppiness against Porto. He was caught ball-watching in the first half, as Porto attacker Galeno came onto the ball in the Arsenal box and almost scored. 

Of course, the Brazilian attacker would make amends for this miss in added time, as his long-range strike earned an historic win for the Portuguese outfit. Whilst Saliba was not primarily to blame for the concession of this late goal, none of the Arsenal defenders were quick enough to close down Galeno in an attempt to block the shot. 

William Saliba called out for poor showing as Arsenal lose to Porto

Goalkeeper David Raya took the heat from Arsenal fans for this late goal, but Arteta will feel that his entire defensive unit were poor in this instance. 

During the match, Charles Watts identified that Saliba was looking somewhat out of sorts. Writing on X, the reporter observed that “Saliba seems a bit off it so far, keeps getting caught out a bit, misjudging a few things.”

Arsenal will now head into the second leg of this tie with Porto at a huge disadvantage. They will need to be much better in all areas of their game at the Emirates Stadium if they are to turn this contest around and advance to the quarter-finals. They certainly cannot afford to give any more goals away. Therefore, Saliba must be much sharper, and much more like his usual self, when the two teams meet again in north London on March 12th.