According to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, William Saliba’s recent experience facing off against Ivan Toney has helped him prepare for the challenge of taking on Erling Haaland of Manchester City.
On Wednesday night, the Gunners visit the Citizens in their first Premier League matchup of the year. This matchup is expected to be crucial for the title battle.
Even though they have played one more game than their competitors, a win for City would put Pep Guardiola’s team ahead of Arsenal, who enter the game in uncharacteristically bad form.
Arsenal lost to City in the FA Cup and to relegation-threatened Everton in their last two games. Last Saturday, they were held to a contentious draw against Brentford.
Against the Bees and their tall, muscular attacker Toney, who scored the game-tying goal at the Emirates in stoppage time, Saliba in particular struggled.
The 22-year-old Haaland will be another big, powerful striker Saliba will face versus City, but Arteta is certain the young center-back can handle the strain if he makes progress in a number of crucial areas.
Saliba has the physical ability to deal with that, but time, exposure, and the experiences he had with Toney are also necessary for him to realize how challenging things are here. In his pre-game press conference on Tuesday, Arteta noted.
Ivan Toney, though, is likely to defeat any defense in the league if you match him up with 10 balls that are falling with snow.
But that ball isn’t the issue. It also concerns what transpires afterward. City won’t be putting those kinds of balls in our box, but they do have a goalie who can do so.
Saliba joined Arsenal in 2019, but he didn’t play until the first game of this year. Since then, he has played a crucial role in the Gunners’ surprise title run.
The 21-year-old has improved greatly as a result of his loan stints in France, but, as his boss notes, still has a lot to learn about the Premier League.
Toney’s defense, he has scored 29 goals for Brentford since they were promoted from the Championship during the past three years, making him one of the league’s top attackers in that time.
Of course, Haaland is a whole different potential; thus far this season, he has scored 31 goals in 29 games across all competitions.