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By Oli Dickson Jefford Arsenal couldn’t have asked for a better start to the Premier League season. The Gunners are the only team to have won their opening three matches and not only have the results been encouraging, but the performances have been exceptional. Several players have performed incredibly well and there is certainly a real sense of optimism around the club. Last season, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe were the breakout performers that starred and won the hearts of fans at the Emirates. With a promising campaign underway, who will be Arsenal’s breakout star this season. William Saliba Perhaps no one has won over the Arsenal faithful as much this season as William Saliba has in the opening three league games. The French defender spent three seasons on loan and a breakthrough looked unlikely, but he has been given a chance and has absolutely excelled. Saliba has produced a string of stunning displays and the Arsenal fans were singing his name throughout the Gunners’ ...

Preview: Arsenal v Leicester By Tum Balogun  Mikel Arteta’s men have energised even the most lethargic Gunners fans by following up their stellar summer shopping spree with a confident opening day performance against Crystal Palace in South London. With many tipping the side for a top-four spot - and a few even dreaming of a title jaunt - Arsenal gear up for gameweek two at home to Leicester City on Saturday knowing, better than perhaps any other side, how dramatically things can change. The Foxes on the other hand, travel to the Emirates as a mirror image of the North Londoners.  A summer window punctuated by speculation of high-profile departures, zero incomings and an opening fixture stalemate against Brentford which felt like a defeat having led by two goals to nil.  Let’s take a closer look at what to expect to see from tomorrow afternoon’s match-up. Line-ups Arteta opted for a 4-3-3 in last weekend’s London derby, awarding starts to summer arrival’s Oleksandr Zinche...

  Is William Saliba the man to shore up Arsenal’s defence? After spending three years out on loan, William Saliba finally got the chance to show what he can do in the Premier League.  The 21-year-old’s MOTM debut against Crystal Palace last Friday had pundits and pros alike raving about his composure, maturity and class.  Mikel Arteta clearly trusted the French international to throw him into the pressure cooker of Selhurst Park under the lights for the 2021/22 curtain raiser.  And afterwards, the manager added his own plaudits to the almost universal acclaim Saliba received following the2-0 win.  “You don’t really see that, at 21 years old, debut in the Premier League, against this opponent, against physical players – and resolve that situation the way he has done it,” Arteta said.  “With that composure, with that calmness and with that presence. So big credit to the boy. I wanted to let him be and let him play, that’s the way we have tried to develop that...

By Will Castle The new Premier League season is nearly upon us, and Arsenal are set to kick off their campaign with a trip to Crystal Palace this Friday. The Gunners will be full of confidence after a flawless pre-season, which saw them win all six of their warmup games. Mikel Arteta will be hoping to follow up their promising pre-season preparations with an equally stellar season, as Arsenal look to prove themselves as a serious threat in the race for top-four. After an active transfer window at the Emirates, seeing the arrival of five exciting new acquisitions, there is a sense of optimism among Gooners, who will be desperate to see their side finish in a Champions League spot for the first time since the 2015/16 season. So, with that, let’s take a look at four players to keep an eye on for the Gunners, as they look to start their season on a high in South London.   Gabriel Jesus After an impressive pre-season, marquee signing Gabriel Jesus is already looking like the missing pie...

Will William Saliba start for Arsenal next season? By Jonny Bray How do you solve a problem like William Saliba? It would be criminal if, after spending £27 million on the French central defender, Arsenal cannot get the best out of the 21-year-old. However, The Mirror is reporting that four clubs are in for the youngster, while The Sun is saying that Arsenal have given Marseille the green flag to sign Saliba. He has had a great season on loan in Ligue 1, playing for Marseille. In that time, he has picked up the Young Player of the Season award for Ligue 1, while also being named in the Team of the Year. So, if he is part of Mikel Arteta's plans, will Saliba start for Arsenal next season? Could he leave? It would be a shame to see Saliba leave just as he enters his prime. When he first joined Arsenal, he obviously was not ready for the quality and pressure that comes with first-team football in the Premier League. But he is getting there. He has played 36 matches in Ligue 1 this cam...

How William Saliba has proved Arteta wrong at Marseille By Ben Hart William Saliba will have been an Arsenal player for three years in July, but fans are still yet to see him in first-team action. The defender, now in his third spell away from the club, has been called up to the France national side for friendlies against the Ivory Coast and South Africa. Although he was only called up in light of an injury to Benjamin Pavard, recognition by his country’s senior side is the latest positive development in the career of the ever-improving 21-year-old. Mikel Arteta has professed since September 2020 that Saliba is very much in his plans: “He is going to be really important in our future and things sometimes take time.” But with the player returning in the summer is this the chance for him to finally break into the Arsenal first team? How has he proved to Mikel Arteta that is the case during his time at Marseille? Consistency Saliba has amassed 3,595 minutes of action for Marseille this se...

How is William Saliba doing on loan? By Jack Lacey-Hatton Firstly, he’s still a very young player and has plenty of time to improve either on loan or at Arsenal.  The Frenchman also has plenty of sell on value, especially if he does well on loan in France or, preferably, at another Premier League club. We’ve seen defenders go out on loan then be sold for big money in the past, and so Saliba’s performance levels this season are still a matter of concern for Gunners fans, even if he isn’t currently at The Emirates.  So how has he done on loan at Marseille this season? Plenty of game time Saliba made 20 appearances in total for Nice during the 2020/21 season but has already made 18 for Marseille this campaign.  That is a significant increase in game time for the defender, who needs to start getting more game time if he is going to progress to the next level.  He’s not been sent off during either of his loan spells in France and is enjoying a fantastic season with the Fr...

What should Arsenal do with William Saliba?  By Tom Masters Arsenal purchased William Saliba from AS Saint-Etienne for £27m in the summer of 2019, but after over two years, he is still yet to make an appearance for the club having immediately been sent back on loan to the French side.   Since then, he has gone on loan twice more, with Nice last season, and Marseille this season, where he has been superb.    Marseille have benefitted from having the French defender at the heart of their defence, with the 20-year-old playing all but one match this season, keeping six clean sheets in his 13 matches this season.    As a result of his good current form, Marseille sit fourth in Ligue 1, just one point off Champions League qualification, which has prompted Arsenal fans to question whether or not they should be keeping hold of Saliba or not?   Arsenal defence  With the signing of Ben White from Brighton and Takehiro Tomiyasu from Bologna in the summe...

How are Arsenal's loan players getting on away from the Emirates? By Oscar Maung-Haley The international break gives us a chance to take stock of how Arsenal’s out-on-loan players are getting on at their respective clubs. Here’s a look at how the away-from-the-Emirates Gunners are faring on the continent. William Saliba It’s great for the Gunners that Benjamin White and Gabriel have seemingly formed a strong partnership at the back for Mikel Arteta’s side. But it cannot be overstated how much the club has butchered the handling of William Saliba’s time at the Emirates. Signed for a whopping £27m in 2019, Saliba has yet to feature for the Arsenal senior side, being loaned out back out to Saint-Etienne for the 2019/20 season. Upon his return last season, he was left out of the first team squad entirely, being loaned out in January to Nice. Again, this season, the 20-year-old France U21 international finds himself at Marseille in Ligue 1. And this season, his 3 rd  loan move has more ...