Arteta hails Saliba and Arsenal fans for response after OG | OneFootball

Icon: Daily Cannon

Daily Cannon

·13 August 2022

Arteta hails Saliba and Arsenal fans for response after OG

Article image:Arteta hails Saliba and Arsenal fans for response after OG

Mikel Arteta has heaped even more praise on William Saliba as the youngster put in another great display against Leicester City, never letting his head drop after scoring an unfortunate own goal.

Scoring an own goal on your home debut for the club you’ve waited three years to play for would impact lesser players.

There were no such worries about William Saliba.


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As the ball glanced off his head in the 53rd minute, past a diving Aaron Ramsdale, and into his own net, the crowd moved immediately to lift their new star.

It helped the 21-year-old take it all in his stride, as if he’d merely put a clearance out for a corner by mistake.

Speaking after the game, Mikel Arteta was keen to praise both the supporters and the player.

“I’m more happy today than I was last week with Palace because of how he reacted to the own goal,” Arteta said, referencing Saliba’s Man of the Match debut last weekend.

As for the fans, “What they did with Saliba, after the own goal,” Arteta said, “is something I’ve never seen anything like that in my career. I think it lifted Willy’s confidence.”

Arsenal ran out easy winners, thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus, who scored a brace on his home debut and assisted the other two.

Granit Xhaka also got in on the act, as did Gabriel Martinelli who absolutely tortured the Leicester defence all game.

The referee also awarded a penalty to Leicester after a Jamie Vardy dive, but it was Mike Dean on VAR who instructed Darren England, who was out of his depth all game, to overturn it.

Vardy was not booked for diving.

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