Arsenal have had such a solid defence for much of this season, it is a real blow for Mikel Arteta to lose such crucial parts of it at a pivotal time of the season. Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey missing out have destabilised the foundation built throughout the campaign.
However, there have been increasingly concerning signs from Gabriel Magalhaes. The young defender is expected to make errors as he develops but with a young Arsenal hotshot pushing for a place in the team next summer, these mistakes could cost him a place.
William Saliba’s performances on loan for Marseille have earned him a place in the French national team with Didier Deschamps a huge fan of the 20-year-old. There is a strong argument the youngster has been the standout defender in the entire league having played more minutes than any other OM player.
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Speaking to L’Equipe, Saliba has opened the door to integrating into the Arsenal team through ‘rotation.’ Admitting that this would be a significantly different step compared to playing in the youth setup as he did at the back end of 2020 before leaving on loan in January for Nice.
"They are often in contact with my agent," Saliba said. "They send me messages. They watch my matches. They tell me to continue like this. I haven't played much with the Gunners. The coach made his choices, that's life. I left on loan, I played matches, and, thanks to my performances, I became a [senior] international.
"What happened to me helped forge a mental toughness. You don't play just because you cost €30million. I take it positively. Even if there are times when you ask yourself questions. For six months, I saw that I was the the only one in the group not to play, it hurt.
"I'm sure I can't just be on the bench at Arsenal and be happy. I want to play as a starter. Afterwards, if I come into the rotation as a substitute, it's not like staying with the Under-23s and never being in the squad."
Who he might replace in the team has often seen fingers point toward Ben White. With both players being right-footed and the Frenchman operating more so on the right-hand side it makes sense. However, Saliba featured predominantly at left centre-back whilst with Nice and has also returned to the role six times for Marseille.
Mikel Arteta is also a huge fan of Ben White who has been the standout centre half for the Gunners this season. Gabriel’s mistakes against Manchester City, Wolves and Crystal Palace highlighting the Brazilian’s drawbacks more frequently.
“We brought him because we believe that he can be extraordinary,” Arteta said in October. “He doesn’t have that much experience in the league still. He has experience with Leeds and the experience he had with Brighton for a year, so he is not mature in that sense, but he has already shown his qualities and what he can do. The way he has adapted to us is impressive, so the potential is there.”
Statistically, Saliba can more than compete with Gabriel in fact he has outperformed him. Looking into the defensive metrics according to Wyscout the younger defender is outperforming him.
In total, Saliba wins in nine separate areas compared to Gabriel. Defensive duels per 90 (4.88 > 4.44) and success rate (70.5% > 70.1%) Aerial duel win percentage (55.1% > 50.9%) and interceptions (4.7 > 3.98). Losses per 90 (5.54 > 5.83) and the percentage of losses in a player’s own half (45.2% > 51.5%). Recoveries per 90 (9.27 > 8.58) and percentage won in the opposition half (20.3% > 15%). Lastly is fouls per 90 with Saliba winning (0.41 > 0.7). Ben White meanwhile is winning in several of these areas.
Passing wise it is barely a contest. It begins with a simple pass percentage with the Frenchman’s 94% staggeringly high compared to a still very good 90.9% from Gabriel.
However, looking into the finer details, Saliba wins by a landslide. Passes into the final third per 90 (8.11 > 4.93) and success (86.1% > 71.6%). Passes into the box per 90 (0.66 > 0.28) and success (52.4% > 12.5%). Forward to backward pass ratio again Saliba wins (29.14:3.35 > 17.33:2.34).
The caveat is that Saliba is performing these feats in a comparatively less demanding league. That said, how much this plays into how successful a player is at tackling or finding their intended pass target is difficult to measure. The facts are head-to-head, Saliba is proving to be a very impressive player who has three years on his current Arsenal competitor.
