Arsenal advocate William Saliba he returned to his best level during the 6-0 first division conquer western ham United on the road yesterday.
The Gunners made it four wins in a row with a convincing performance at the London Stadium. Saliba led from the front, scoring the first goal after a brilliant corner Declan Rice. The French star scored with a dominant header at the far post in the 32nd minute of the derby.
The center back was one of five different scorers on the day. The Hammers never seemed to find the back of the net and part of the credit must go to Saliba, who returned to his best form. The 22-year-old was guilty of giving away Liverpool with a goal recently, but yesterday I was much more confident.
Saliba completed an extraordinary 73 of his 75 passes with an accuracy of 97%. He also won 100% of the aerial duels from him and completed each of the 5 long balls from him. The former Saint Etienne also made 3 clearances against the Hammers and lost possession just 3 times during the 90 minutes.
Arsenal kept only their second clean sheet since the start of the year and will look to keep the momentum going in their upcoming away games. The Gunners will face Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League on Saturday before facing Porto in the Champions League last 16.
The London giants should be aiming for three points when they visit Lancashire this weekend before the crucial trip to Portugal. Arsenal have not reached the last 16 of the Champions League for over a decade and need an away win in Porto to take command.
Saliba will have an important role to play in each of those matches. It was during this period that he was injured last season, putting the club's title aspirations in jeopardy. The Gunners must keep him fit and firing if they want to end the campaign on a strong note, with success in the league and in Europe.
