Mikel Arteta must resist the temptation to rush William Saliba back

All the talk, following Sunday's 1-0 win at Anfield, is that Arsenal are the best defensive team in Europe. Kai Havertz opened the scoring inside a quarter of an hour, with Andoni Iraola's side, officially, not having a single shot on target all afternoon, very much held at arm's length by Mikel Arteta's team.

Across 13 matches in the Champions League, Premier League and FA Community Shield, the Gunners have now kept nine clean sheets, conceding just seven goals, of which almost half came during one miserable afternoon on the outskirts Brighton.

The champions have conceded just five times in the Premier League, the lowest in the division, as well as being sat top for xG against (7.2) and shots on target faced (24).

Europe's big 5 leagues: clubs with fewest shots on target faced

• Note: Statistics courtesy of FBref.

Well, could the best backline in Europe be about to get even stronger? As was reported on Tuesday morning by Hand of Arsenal, William Saliba is "in contention" to make his Arsenal return against Slavia Prague in the Champions League. They add that the French defender has made a "colossal recovery" and the Arsenal medical team will assess how he comes through training the day before the match.

The 25 year old has not featured since France's defeat to Spain in the World Cup semi-finals in Texas on 14 July. He exacerbated a back injury throughout the tournament, with the club confirming he would be out for an "extended period", but opted against surgery.

Thus, having one of the best defenders in the world back would obviously represent a major boost, but Arteta must be cautious. This back issue is a long-standing problem for Saliba, one which curtailed his 2022/23 campaign in March, the key reason why Arsenal fell away towards the end of their first title challenge.

Also, Arteta is in the luxurious position of not needing to have Saliba back right away, as was the case back then. As already documented, the Gunners' defensive numbers are off the chance, largely due to how seamlessly Ezri Konsa has slotted in alongside Gabriel.

Forgotten man Cristhian Mosquera is likely to be rotated in at the Fortuna Arena on Wednesday, affording either Konsa or Gabriel a rest. Nevertheless, with a pretty underwhelming Slavia Prague side and then Hull City the Gunners' next two opponents, perhaps Arteta thinks now is a good time to give Saliba some minutes.

After the international break, Arsenal face Newcastle, Borussia Dortmund, Man City, Brentford, Tottenham, Real Madrid and then Bournemouth, so not a lot of gimmes in there! Even so, as great as it will be to see Saliba back, the 1,044 Gooners set to be in Prague likely to sing his name long into the night, cautioned is required. Arsenal don't need Saliba now, but they very will need him to be fit, available and at 100% come April and May.

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