Erling hits brick wall! Has Haaland met his physical match in  William Saliba kept goal-machine quiet during Man City’s trip ready for Chelsea… 

Erling hits brick wall! Has Haaland met his physical match in  William Saliba kept goal-machine quiet during Man City’s trip ready for Chelsea…

William Saliba kept goal-machine Erling Haaland quiet during Man City’s trip to Arsenal and has yet to be dribbled past this season… but is the Gunners star the BEST defender in the Premier League?

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In Arsenal’s clash with City on Sunday afternoon, there had been much debate over the potential battle between City’s Haaland and Arsenal’s Saliba.

Many suggested that Haaland would struggle, given the absence of Kevin De Bruyne who has been sidelined since the start of August with a recurring injury.

And that proved to be true as, during the match at the Emirates, the Norwegian forward barely had a sniff at goal.

With just 23 touches during the match, Haaland failed to register a shot on the Arsenal goal as Saliba expertly marshalled him throughout the game.

There was one moment in particular which highlighted Saliba’s dominance in the game, as he brushed the City striker aside as he looked to burst in behind.

It’s a moment that has since gone viral on social media, with many impressed by Saliba’s eye-catching performance on the day.

However, the stats do well to suggest that it was a near-perfect afternoon for the former Saint-Étienne central defender.

Saliba managed to win 100 per cent of his duels, boasted a 97 per cent pass accuracy and failed to commit a single foul during the clash against Man City.

Saliba’s importance to Arteta’s side was evident as he contained one the world’s most prolific strikers with ease – and his stats throughout the season will back it up.

The 22-year-old is one of the few defenders in the Premier League who is yet to be dribbled past by one of his opponents – a truly incredible statistic.

And when comparing Saliba with some of his strongest counterparts in the league – such as Ruben Dias, Virgil van Dijk, Cristian Romero and Sven Botman – the Frenchman still stands out.

In terms of passes attempted per match, the Arsenal star is only bested by City’s Dias – who’s tally of 648 just pips Saliba’s 636 passes.

However, despite Dias’ attempts, Saliba actually boasts a higher pass completion rate than the Portuguese international – having completed 94.34 per cent.

Saliba has also won the second highest amount of duels out of those five defenders – with only Spurs’ Romero besting him in that category.

The 22-year-old also narrowly loses out to Romero in terms of recoveries made this year – with the Spurs star’s tally of 45 just beating Saliba’s 43.

In fact, the World Cup winner leads the a number of statistics for Premier League centre-backs this season – such as duels won, aerial duels won, tackles and interceptions.

Since August 2022, Arsenal have won 77 per cent of their Premier League games with Saliba. However, without Saliba, the win rate drops to 46 per cent.

It’s no wonder that after Saliba picked up a back injury in March, Arsenal’s Premier League title charge soon started to fade away.

And, if Mikel Arteta is to have any hope of mounting another push fo the league title, it’s clear that their success will heavily rely upon the fitness of Saliba.