William Saliba had an eventful 90 minutes in Arsenal’s shock defeat to Manchester United at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta has several issues to resolve if Arsenal are going to win silverware this season.
One of the Gunners’ biggest problems is a lack of chance creation, which certainly cost the hosts against Man United.
The lack of creativity going forward was the primary concern that arose from the 3-2 defeat to the Red Devils, which, surprisingly, is why we need to talk about William Saliba.
Who was Arsenal’s most disappointing player against Man United?
Explain your answer!
William Saliba’s performance against Man United was difficult to sum up
It might be hard to believe, but Saliba was one of Arsenal’s best creative outlets against United.
The centre-back recorded three key passes in the game, which was more than Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze, and Gabriel Jesus combined.
Only Declan Rice could outdo Saliba in the key passes department, which says a lot, given that the Frenchman was consistently Arsenal’s last man in defence.
Sum up William Saliba’s performance against Man Utd in three words
A bit of creative excellence and defensive failure…🥲
On top of playmaking, the 24-year-old completed 100% of the dribbles he attempted.
From that information alone, it would be thought that Saliba was terrific against United, but that’s far from the full story.
The defender recorded his lowest Sofascore match rating of the season by far, being rated only 5.9 out of 10, a rating lower than only Jurrien Timber and David Raya recorded.
It’s clear to see why Saliba was rated so poorly, as defensively, he had a nightmare.
One error leading to a shot, and only two duel wins were the story of Saliba’s defensive contribution against United, which made his performance so confusing, given his attacking prowess.
Saliba embarrassed his Arsenal teammate against Man United
The numbers tell a tale of a bizarre outing for the Arsenal centre-back, but the headline to his woes was his role in United’s equaliser.
Martin Zubimendi was at fault, but Saliba was just as much to blame.
Who was at fault for Bryan Mbeumo’s goal vs Arsenal – Martin Zubimendi or William Saliba?
On Sky Sports, Micah Richards said that the Frenchman punished Zubimendi with his poor pass.
“The way he gave him the ball, it was always difficult. You only had one place to go – go back to the keeper. He misplaced it, and then they get punished.”
It was a game that lit Arsenal’s errors up for all to see, with the Gunners punished by United, who left North London with three points.
There are many takeaways from the game from an Arsenal point of view, perhaps the most alarming being how Saliba’s playmaking efforts matched up against his teammates.
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