William Saliba has been earning rave reviews for his start to life at Arsenal but ex- Manchester United star Roy Keane insists he still "has a mistake in him".
The young France international has been integrated into the Gunners first-team set-up this term after three years spent largely out on loan, and he has wasted little time in adapting to the rigours of the Premier League. Saliba was handed the man of the match gong on his first game, away at Crystal Palace, and has barely looked back since.
He has started every league game for an Arsenal side that currently sit top of the table, having won eight of their opening nine games. This kind of form has sparked shouts that Mikel Arteta's men could mount a serious title tilt.
But while Keane conceded the Gunners could be the team most likely to stand in the way of more Manchester City dominance this season, he interestingly also claimed that both Saliba and his central defensive partner Gabriel Magalhaes will be prone to errors.
When asked whether he thought Arteta's side were City's main threat to the title, Keane told Sky Sports : "At the moment, yeah. Without a doubt.
"They’re playing with confidence, even the game they lost to Manchester United they played quite well but it was just one of those days. They’ve got a bit of physicality in the team, they’ve got two centre halves.
"I know they’ve got a mistake in them but there’s that physical presence."
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Saliba and Gabriel both certainly carry a physical presence, but while Gabriel's start to the season has stuttered on a personal level, 21-year-old Saliba has looked assured and composed, cool on the ball when under pressure.
Arteta discussed his central defensive pairing before the recent home win over Liverpool, stating: “I don’t see central defenders as individuals. They are always partnerships and there has to be an element of chemistry, understanding and complementing each other, and those two maximise each other’s qualities in a really positive way.
“Gabriel was coming from France, still raw physically, he wasn’t developed, he wasn’t in the muscular tone that obviously we wanted. But he has been really disciplined and working really hard to improve that because he understands the physicality in this league is really demanding. You see him physically and everyone notices the change."
