William Saliba may have just copied what Jose Mourinho did before he won the Premier League title

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Jose Mourinho was the king of mind games during his time in the Premier League, and he played plenty of them against Arsenal.

The self-proclaimed Special One had many great battles against Arsene Wenger and often got the better of him.

The mind games Mourinho played before matches definitely played a part, and it looks like one Arsenal player has learned a thing or two from him.

That player is William Saliba.

William Saliba begins mind games to give Arsenal an edge over Liverpool

Saliba is one of Arsenal’s most important players.

The France international has had an injury problem this term, but whenever he plays, the Gunners’ chances of victory are high.

Saliba will be key in Arsenal’s pursuit of winning the Premier League and Champions League titles this term, and we’re sure he is privately confident that his side can go all the way.

However, in public, he is keen to pile the pressure on Liverpool.

While in the France camp, Saliba and his international teammates were signing autographs for fans.

Ibrahima Konate held up a picture of himself kissing the Premier League title and said: “Hey Wilo, it’s yours this year.”

Saliba replied: “No, it’s Liverpool again, gotta put the pressure on them.”

Jose Mourinho employed similar mind games and it worked

In the 2014/15 season, it seemed like we were headed for a three-horse race for the Premier League crown.

In February, Arsenal were two points clear at the top of the table, and Chelsea managed to match City’s points tally after beating them at the Etihad.

After that game, Jose Mourinho was asked if his side could win the Premier League from that position, and the Special One immediately shut down that claim.

“The title race is between two horses (Arsenal and Manchester City) and a little horse (Chelsea) that needs milk and needs to learn how to jump,” he told the BBC. “Maybe next season we can race.”

That was clearly mind games as Chelsea went on to win the title, finishing eight points above City and 12 ahead of the Gunners.

Saliba could well be employing the same strategy by piling the pressure on Konate’s Liverpool, who are the defending champions and are in a difficult moment now, having lost three games on the bounce.