After William Saliba's performances in pre-season, Mikel Arteta faces a tricky selection dilemma ahead of Arsenal 's opening day trip to Crystal Palace.
The 21-year-old spent last campaign on loan at Marseille and impressed, picking up the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year for his efforts and breaking into the senior France squad. Saliba was not considered to be ready for first-team football at the Gunners when he arrived from Saint-Étienne in 2019, but now, notably after his display in the 4-0 thrashing of Chelsea, has left Arteta eulogising about his growth and new-found readiness for the Premier League.
"He looked ready to me today," said the Spaniard. "We will keep developing him, he has a huge potential, he is already a top player and we have to make him even better."
Saliba has featured in all of Arsenal's friendlies on their pre-season tour of the United States, with the Gunners conceding just once. And he was impressive in the win over Chelsea, starting alongside Gabriel at the heart of defence in a move that saw Ben White pushed out to right-back.
Although Rob Holding is still at the club, it is expected to be a three-way tussle for the two centre-back positions. Gabriel and White were excellent for the majority of the season but struggled towards the end of the campaign as Arsenal failed to keep a clean sheet in their final 10 Premier League matches.
It was a run that ultimately saw the Gunners miss out on Champions League football. Gabriel and White may not been directly at fault for that, but Saliba could no doubt solve some of those issues which were creeping into their back-line. The latter is a dominant defender but is very comfortable on the ball - a trait Arteta likes - and in some quarters has been labelled a mixture of the best of both the Brazilian and the Englishman.
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White's use at right-back, a role he has previously played for Brighton, was interesting in the US. First-choice right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu at key times struggled with injuries last term while Arteta has never appeared too sure about Cedric. With Arsenal desiring to keep Bukayo Saka as high and wide as possible, using White as an auxiliary right-back who stays tight to his centre-backs would offer balance, protect against opposing counter attacks and, also, offer Arteta a solution that ensures a starting spot for all three of he, Gabriel and Saliba.
The question is, with a World Cup place to play for, whether White is willing to continue there regularly? After all, he'll have an easier time getting into Gareth Southgate's 26-man squad for Qatar in his natural position than at right-back.
Saliba played 90 minutes in the win over Chelsea and Arteta believes he is ready for first-team involvement. Arsenal face Sevilla in their final pre-season friendly on July 30 before the season gets underway six days later. This is the final chance for Arteta to get his team ready for the competitive campaign and his starting XI could hint who is going to play at Palace.
So, if Saliba is handed the nod, then he may well be in the side to tackle Patrick Viera's men. Gabriel will almost certainly be there too. But, on opening night up against Wilf Zaha, would White also be included too?
