Arsenal defender William Saliba was back at his best during the 6-0 Premier League win over West Ham United on the road yesterday.
The Gunners made it four wins on the bounce with a resounding performance at the London Stadium. Saliba lead from the front, scoring the opening goal from a brilliant corner from Declan Rice. The French star netted with a dominating header at the far post in the 32nd minute of the derby.
The centre-back was one of five different goalscorers on the day. The Hammers never looked like finding the back of the net and part of the credit must go to Saliba, who was back at his best. The 22-year-old was guilty of gifting Liverpool with a goal recently, but he was far more assured yesterday.
Saliba completed an extraordinary 73 out of his 75 passes with an accuracy of 97%. He also won 100% of his aerial duels & completed each of his 5 long balls. The former Saint Etienne also made 3 clearances against the Hammers and lost possession on just 3 occasions over the entire 90 minutes.
Arsenal kept only their 2nd clean sheet since the start of the year and they will be looking to sustain the momentum in the next few games away from home. The Gunners will take on Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League on Saturday before facing Porto in the Champions League last 16.
The London giants should be fancied to get all three points from their visit of Lancashire this weekend before the crucial trip to Portugal. Arsenal have not made it to the last 8 of the Champions League for more than a decade, and they need an away win at Porto to put them in the driving seat.
Saliba will have a big part to play in each of those matches. It was during this period that he got injured last season which jeopardised the club’s title aspirations. The Gunners must keep him fit and firing if they want to end the campaign on a strong note with league and European success.
