William Saliba, an Arsenal defender, was playing at his peak on Saturday afternoon when the team defeated Sheffield United 5-0 in the Premier League.
In their most recent league match, the Frenchman had a mediocre showing against Chelsea. He was responsible for giving up a regrettable penalty that resulted in the first goal.
He atoned for his misdeeds in midweek against Sevilla with a strong performance, and he was outstanding today as well.
Saliba completed 122 of his 127 passes for an incredible 133 touches. Since he was in charge of the situation, the Frenchman had no defensive work to undertake.
Jakub Kiwior, the 22-year-old’s alternate central defensive partner, had little effect on him as he shut out the opposition’s attempts on goal.
Even though Eddie Nketiah scored his first-ever senior hat-trick and was clearly the star of the show, the win over the Blades had many other encouraging aspects.
After the difficult match at Stamford Bridge, the defence maintained a comfortable clean sheet, and the Gunners’ offence showed more cohesiveness after the break.
Although the Gunners were undoubtedly the favourites to defeat Paul Heckingbottom’s team, they lost these kinds of games the previous season.
Last season, the team lost four points to Southampton, who were in 20th position. However, against the Blades, there was little need for concern as they were in complete control from the start.
With the win, the team has closed the gap on leaders Tottenham Hotspur to only two points. They are now second in the standings and will travel to play Newcastle United in the league next.
