Is Saliba the key to unlocking the Champions League door?

It was a long time coming but William Saliba finally made his Premier League debut for Arsenal in this season’s opening fixture at Selhurst Park, producing a stunning man-of-the-match display that had everyone talking.

The 21-year-old defender’s performance is easily a contender for one of the best debuts in Premier League history and helped the Gooners get their campaign off to the perfect start with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.

The North London club signed Saliba for £27 million from St-Etienne in 2019 but until his polished showing against the Eagles, he had not played a single minute for Mike Arteta’s side, spending the last three years on loan with Ligue 1 sides St-Ettiene, Nice and Marseille instead.

His maturity and composure under pressure at centre-back has probably left some Arsenal fans scratching their heads as to why last season’s Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year wasn’t featured more prominently in the Spaniard’s plans beforehand. Regardless, there is no doubting the level of excitement the Frenchman has generated in such a short amount of time with the club, and with plenty of fresh faces accompanying him at the Emirates, the prospect of a top-four finish is seemingly within grasp.

Statistics alone will tell you the quality of Saliba’s first outing in an Arsenal shirt. In his maiden appearance against Palace, he made 62 touches, completed 46 out of 49 passes, made seven clearances, and won the ball back on seven occasions. With Saliba shoring up the Gunners’ defence, Arsenal look good value at 8/11 to finish in the top four places this season according to these betting sites. Whilst the standard of his performance on debut might come as a shock to Premier League fans, it certainly wouldn’t have for French football fans. The 21-year-old made quite the impression when out on loan at Marseilles and was a key figure in Les Olympiens’ season last year, finishing second behind perennial winners PSG. He was an integral part of the second-best defence in the league, conceding only 38 goals over the course of their 38 league matches, just two behind the champions and fifth-placed Nice, both conceding 36 goals respectively. He established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet last season and with good reason. His passing accuracy, dribbling, tackling and reading of the game were unmatched by anyone of his age, earning him a call up to the senior French national side making his debut in a 2-1 victory over the Ivory Coast.

His impressive performances for the French outfit have seen him work his way out of relative obscurity in North London and his exceptional performance on that Friday night in Croydon showed us that he clearly has the credentials to make it as a top Premier League player. Arteta even hailed his performance as “phenomenal” in helping Arsenal keep a clean sheet against a tough opponent.

However, despite the overwhelmingly positive start to life at the Emirates, he will still need time to settle into his role and develop as a player; he is still young after all and whilst the early signs are promising it will be important not to heap too much pressure on his shoulders in the preliminary stages of his Arsenal career.

A sentiment that his boss reiterated after his performance against Palace earned the young defender a lot of praise and heightened expectations at the weekend.

“I think he has his feet on the ground, that is not going to be an issue,” Arteta told the Daily Mail. “Obviously we have talked about the expectation that he already created before joining the club, when he was on loan. He is very aware of everything that was happening around him and we have tried to manage that internally in a really quiet way and I think it is better to stay like this for him because he is 21 years of age and he has played one Premier League match.”

“The first impression was really positive,” added the Arsenal boss. “His body language, his presence and the confidence he was acting with was very mature. The players really like him because he has come really determined, a focused and humble boy who wants to take the club forward. He is so willing to be talked through anything you want to talk about, be coached and his aim is to get better and get the team better and that is about it.”

The question is whether he can sustain it and if he is the answer to Arsenal’s defensive frailties.

We’re only two games into the Premier League season so there is still a long way to go before we can label Saliba the resounding success he is being touted as for sure.

It is a solid start nonetheless, that shows the young defender is capable of handling the physical demands of the best league in the world. But more importantly, it shows that the Gunners’ defence is moving in the right direction.

Oleksandr Zinchenko’s introduction to the Arsenal squad could prove to be just as important as Saliba’s. It was looking that way against Palace, acting as the focal point of some very intelligent play by the visitors.

The Ukranian’s balls into the box were the stuff of nightmares for the Eagles defenders and his movement in the area at set pieces earned him an assist in the opening match. The two new signings didn’t manage to match the heights of their initial performance against Leicester at home but they still produced a competent performance. Arsenal were 4-2 winners with Saliba scoring an own goal but his overall performance exuded confidence and showed great potential. He will have to work hard to maintain his place in the side but whereas before this campaign Arsenal were looking short one or two strong defensive options in the centre of the pitch, they have seemingly made huge strides this Summer towards rectifying that situation.

The top four has eluded the North London club since 2016 and the competition this season is shaping up to be the fiercest yet. City and Liverpool are destined for another titanic struggle for the title leaving the likes of Chelsea, United, West Ham, Spurs and Arsenal are all set to tough it out for the remaining two slots and the illustrious prize that comes with it.

With Gabriel Jesus now leading the line up top with the support of Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli, goals will not likely be hard to come by.

What will ultimately determine the success of Arsenal’s pursuit of Champions League football is their defence and while we have a long way to go until we reach the finish line, Saliba’s performances to date appear to show that it’s in safe hands.