Arsenal have a fixed leadership group at the club.
Mikel Arteta names five players as his captains at the start of every season, and there was a change this time around.
Gabriel Jesus was demoted from his role in the leadership group, and he was replaced by Mikel Merino, who only joined the club in 2024. Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Gabriel Magalhaes are the others in the five-man setup.
Now, Arteta should promote William Saliba to the Arsenal leadership group.
Have Arsenal ever had a better defensive partnership than William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes? If yes, tell us who!
William Saliba shows incredible leadership during Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
William Saliba started at the back for Arsenal against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.
The Frenchman has been without his partner, Gabriel, for a while now, and that has made his life a lot harder at the back.
However, Saliba has still mostly been brilliant and remains one of Arsenal’s most important players.
Against Palace on Tuesday night, the former Saint-Etienne man was outstanding all game, but he was caught ball-watching for Marc Guehi’s equaliser.
Saliba could’ve easily started hiding after such a late mistake, but instead, he stepped up and scored a high-pressure penalty in the shootout.
Furthermore, the Arsenal number two stayed on the pitch for an interview on Sky Sports, where he admitted his error.
He said: “It was a tough game against a top team. We know it’s always hard to play against Palace. But I think we did well. Apart from my mistake, we played well.”
The fact that Saliba didn’t just rectify his mistake on the pitch but also publicly admitted that he made a mistake shows incredible maturity. He is one of the leaders now and deserves a place in the captain’s group.
If you could make one change to Arsenal’s current leadership group, what would it be and why?
Arsenal’s leadership group in 2025/26:
- Martin Odegaard
- Bukayo Saka
- Gabriel Magalhaes
- Declan Rice
- Mikel Merino
William Saliba is adding new traits to his game at Arsenal
Saliba is already one of the best defenders in the world, and he is as complete as they come at the back.
The Frenchman’s concentration levels are something that can be improved, but apart from that, he is almost perfect.
Aside from his defending, Saliba is beginning to play a big part in attack as well, and we’re not just talking about set-pieces.
The Arsenal centre-back has pulled off a few excellent passes into the final third, the most recent of which was to Viktor Gyokeres against Everton in the Premier League.
Once Saliba becomes even better with his passing, he could take Arsenal to a whole new level against sides that sit back and defend deep.
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