Mikel Arteta, manager of Arsenal, claims that William Saliba’s struggle against Ivan Toney helped him be ready for Erling Haaland’s challenge for Manchester City.
William Saliba struggled to deal with Ivan Toney during Arsenal vs Brentford (Photo: Getty)
The Gunners host the Citizens on Wednesday night in their first Premier League meeting of the season and it will likely prove to be a pivotal game in the title race.
Victory for City would move Pep Guardiola’s side to the top of the table, albeit having played a game more than their rivals, and Arsenal go into the match in unusually poor form.
In their last three matches, Arsenal lost to City in the FA Cup and relegation battlers Everton in the league, and were held to a controversial draw against Brentford last Saturday.
Saliba in particular struggled against the Bees and their tall, powerful striker Toney who snatched the late equaliser at the Emirates.
And against City, Saliba will come up against another tall, powerful striker in Haaland – providing the 22-year-old is fit enough – but Arteta believes the young centre-back can cope with the pressure, if he improves in several key areas.
Can Saliba stop Man City sensation Erling Haaland (Photo: Getty)
‘He [Saliba] has the physical capacity to handle that but he also needs the timing, the exposure and the experiences he had with Toney to realise how difficult it is here,’ Arteta said in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
‘But if you put Ivan Toney against any defender in the league and you put ten balls that are coming down with snow on them, he’s probably going to beat them.
‘But it’s not about that ball. It’s about what happens after as well. City are not going to be putting those type of balls but they have a goalkeeper that can put in our box, that’s for sure.’
Saliba signed for Arsenal in 2019 but didn’t make his debut until the first game of this season and has gone on to be a pivotal part of the Gunners’ unexpected title charge.
The 21-year-old has developed significantly thanks to his loan spells back in France but as his manager says still has a lot to learn about the Premier League.
In his defence, Toney has been one of the league’s best strikers over the past three years, scoring 29 goals for Brentford since their promotion from the Championship.
Haaland is another prospect altogether of course, having found the back of the net 31 times in 29 games across all competitions already this campaign.
source: metro.co.uk
