How Ezri Konsa can combat the looming return of William Saliba

Ezri Konsa has done a brilliant job of standing in at centre back since signing for Arsenal in the summer, but he is set to face the tough task of keeping William Saliba at bay as the Frenchman nears a return from injury.

The England international was brought to the club as defensive reinforcement after Saliba had suffered a back injury while at the World Cup with France, which was expected to keep him out of action for a lengthy period.

As the Gunners' number two edges closer to a comeback from his injury, Konsa will be well aware of what he will come up against in a bid to maintain his spot as the starting right centre back, but it may be as simple as just keeping on doing what he's best at.

How Ezri Konsa can combat the looming return of William Saliba

Since signing for Arsenal from Aston Villa, Konsa has made six appearances, four of which were starts, and has made the centre back position his own after Cristhian Mosquera was the initial option to fill in for Saliba.

Keeping the Spaniard at bay seemed like a pretty easy job for the England international as an injury to the former Valencia defender meant Konsa could enjoy a clear run in the team with his signifcant experience also boding well for him.

In the 416 minutes he has played across the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup, he has kept three clean sheets and made 29 defensive contributions to slot in nicely alongside Gabriel Magalhães.

Despite a disappointing performance in a 3-0 defeat to Brighton, which came alongside a terrible overall team display, Konsa has done an impressive job of filling in for Saliba and has no doubt silenced those who questioned Arsenal's move for him.

However, while taking Mosquera's place was likely inevitable regardless of his fitness, keeping hold of the centre back spot once Saliba is back in action will be a completely different story for Konsa as he fights to snatch the role of one of the Premier League's best defenders.

Recent reports have suggested Saliba could be back from injury in November, but others feel his return will come closer to December, but either way, Konsa has plenty of time to keep himself in Mikel Arteta's thoughts and show why he should remain the starter.

There is absolutely no way that Saliba will be rushed back into action so Konsa will relish as many opportunities to play as possible and if he wants to keep his place once his counterpart is fully ready, he just has to keep doing what he's been doing.

Putting the defeat to Brighton aside, Konsa's performances for Arsenal so far have been pretty flawless and Arteta would be foolish to bench him just for the sake of bringing a not fully fit Saliba back into the fold.

It will be very difficult for Konsa to keep Saliba at bay, but if he keeps performing the way he has been, his displays will speak for themselves and give Arteta no reason to drop him out in favour of the Frenchman.

Add us as a preferred source on Google