Arsenal have captured the imagination of many this season, hitting the ground running with seven wins from their first eight to sit top of the Premier League. It has led to many questioning whether they can be involved in a title race this season, adding a new face to the recent domination of Manchester City and Liverpool.
"I’ll leave that to you guys honestly," Mikel Arteta said when asked when his side are officially in the title picture. "We just started and we’re really happy with where we are. We understand that you can’t control because emotion is related. The table says what it says and we don’t look at that."
The form of many players across the team has been a positive for the Gunners, but the start made by youngster William Saliba is one of the most impressive. There were questions over the 21-year-old's future in the squad, but those were quickly put to rest after being handed a starting place in the team.
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His composure on the ball gained plenty of plaudits, adding another layer of solidity to Arsenal in the defence as well as ability with his passing. While Saliba has been the defender plenty are talking about, Manchester City's Erling Haaland is the striker everyone has their eyes on stopping.
The Norwegian has scored 14 goals in eight games since joining, taking home the match ball with a huge hat-trick against city rivals Manchester United. Before the game, the striker made a huge claim on Sky Sports, laying down the gauntlet to Saliba when the two face off.
"If I time my runs perfectly, I know that nobody is stopping me. I’m ready.” It remains to be seen if he will get the better of the Arsenal defender when they face off, with a little more waiting for that match to be done after their clash was recently postponed.
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