The William Saliba return is officially under way. Arsenal’s star centre-back played 45 minutes for the club’s Under-21s in their 5-2 Premier League 2 win over Aston Villa on Sunday, his first competitive appearance in almost four months after the back injury he suffered at the World Cup.
Saliba started at Meadow Park alongside Marli Salmon in central defence and came off at half-time, exactly as planned, with Arsenal 2-1 up at the break. The 25-year-old looked composed throughout his first half, showing his usual confidence in possession and his impressive passing range, and he even sparked an early attack with a long ball over the top for Andre Harriman-Annous to chase. He was not particularly troubled defensively, but the outing was about minutes, not miracles — another carefully managed step on the road back to the first team.
How the William Saliba return was planned
Saliba’s absence from the senior squad for Saturday’s 1-0 win over Hull City was no surprise to those inside the club. Mikel Arteta had already explained before that game that the defender needed competitive minutes, telling BBC Sport: “He needs some minutes.” The U21 appearance was the plan all along, and the half-time withdrawal was pre-arranged rather than a reaction to any problem.
Under-21 head coach David Horseman was quick to put any worries to rest after the game. “He’s the ultimate professional from the minute he got in this morning to half time,” Horseman said. “He’s fine, by the way, it was all pre-planned, so nobody’s got to panic about that.” It was Saliba’s first public fixture since the World Cup semi-final, when he picked up the back problem playing for France against Spain, and the fact he came through 45 minutes without any issues is the news Arsenal wanted to hear.
The youngsters made it a day to remember as well. Max Dowman, 16, scored and set up another, with Maalik Hashi, Evan Mooney and two goals from Harriman-Annous completing the scoring in what was Arsenal’s first Premier League 2 win of the season. Dowman has also earned an England Under-21 call-up for the fixtures against Portugal and France, and his display alongside a returning Saliba gave the Meadow Park crowd plenty to cheer.
What Saliba’s comeback means for Arsenal’s title race
The timing could hardly be better for the Gunners. Arsenal head into the international break six points clear at the top of the Premier League on 27 points from ten games, after Martin Odegaard’s 72nd-minute winner settled the 1-0 win over Hull City on Saturday, while Manchester City slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest. But the squad has been stretched at the back, and getting Saliba back is the single biggest boost Arteta could ask for before the run-in to Christmas.
Saliba has not been called up by France for the November internationals, which is reportedly what Arsenal wanted, so he will spend the next two weeks at the club’s training ground building his fitness without the risk of an international setback. He is on course to rejoin the senior squad for Arsenal’s return to Premier League action away at Newcastle United on Saturday 21 November — the first game back after the break, and a fixture where his presence could be decisive.
The question now is whether Saliba walks straight back into the starting XI. Gabriel Magalhaes and Ezri Konsa have performed so well in his absence that Arteta has a genuine selection call to make, and the manager will not rush his star defender after four months out. But with Bukayo Saka still sidelined and targeting a return for the Real Madrid clash on 9 December, Arsenal need their best players back, and Saliba’s 45 minutes at Meadow Park was the first step. For more on the weekend’s action, check today’s predictions.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0, Chensiyuan) — collage by SportsBuddy
