‘DON’T WANT TO TAKE HIM ON’: AGBONLAHOR SUGGESTS ERLING HAALAND SCARED OF ARSENAL PLAYER

Gabby Agbonlahor has waxed-lyrical about William Saliba and how he is bringing a fear factor to the Arsenal side after he came up against Erling Haaland of Manchester City.

The former Premier League striker says opposition players ‘don’t want to take him on’, as he used Manchester City’s Erling Haland as an example.

Agbonlahor noted how, during Arsenal’s Community Shield win at Wembley, the Treble-winner ‘didn’t want to knock it past’ William Saliba, as he told talkSPORT (09/08/23 at 6:45 am).

Yes, the Premier League season hasn’t started yet, but Arsenal and Saliba did pretty well to contain Haaland over the weekend. 

To think, 12 months ago, the France International was yet to kick a senior ball for the club is pretty incredible.

Yet, fast forward to the present and he is one of his side’s most important players, with Agbonlahor suggesting that he is bringing an element of fear factor to the table.

“You know who I like the most in the Arsenal team, at the moment,” said Agbonlahor. “It’s Saliba. He is a rock. 

“See when Haaland got the ball, I think it was in the first half, and he didn’t want to knock it past Saliba, so he ran back, away from goal.

“People don’t want to take Saliba on. If he can stay fit the whole season, then they will have a better chance (to win the title).”

Saliba’s injury last season

Many believe, if Saliba didn’t miss the final few months of last season, then Mikel Arteta’s side might just be the champions.

In that game at the Etihad, in which Rob Holding played, Haaland had a field day and ‘destroyed’ the Englishman.

It’s fair to say that he wouldn’t do that with Saliba, as their battles in the Premier League are going to be very, very interesting ahead of the new campaign.