Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

Arsenal vs Manchester City: 3 key battles for Emirates clash

By Kenneth Daly

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 6: Erling Haaland of Manchester City and William Saliba of Arsenal challenge during The FA Community Shield match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on August 6, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 6: Erling Haaland of Manchester City and William Saliba of Arsenal challenge during The FA Community Shield match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on August 6, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
A blockbuster of a duel. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
A blockbuster of a duel. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images) /

3. William Saliba vs Erling Haaland

There will be no Rob Holding in the Arsenal squad this time.

An extended injury absence saw William Saliba miss the Etihad visit in April and greatly hindered our momentum for the final weeks of last season, but now he is fully fit and ready to stop the league’s most lethal marksman.

Combined with our own keep-ball approach, Rodri’s layoff may result in lots of Gunners possession this weekend and thereby reduce Erling Haaland (as usual) to something of a peripheral figure.

However, the Norwegian has repeatedly shown that he does not need too many touches to find the net and a conversion rate of 29.14% last campaign (best across Europe’s top five leagues) indicates Saliba will have to be alert to keep him off the scoresheet (The Sporting News).

‘Wilo’ also acts as our main ball progressor from the backline and will need to somehow balance an unenviable defensive workload with important attacking duties, so his composure and recovery pace will be invaluable assets against a freakish goal machine.

This is arguably the toughest test for any Premier League side, and Arsenal could not call upon a better man to win it.

Home/Arsenal News