Keown hails 'scary' William Saliba as Arsenal's calm night watchman

Arsenal icon Martin Keown has praised William Saliba's influence as the Gunners chase their first Premier League title since 2004. Saliba, who broke into the Arsenal first-team squad in 2022 after a series of loans in France, scored his first goal of the season in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Chelsea, a strike that opened up a five-point gap to Manchester City despite Arsenal having played one game more.

The defender, who turns 25 later this month, has since announced himself as one of the world's best centre-backs. "Anyone watching him every week knows the guy's like a Rolls Royce who just purrs across the pitch," Keown said, praising Saliba's consistency and partnership with his team-mates.

He added that the next stage for Saliba is a leadership element, noting that Gabriel currently looks to be the leader but that Saliba will develop that quality as he gets older.

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