‘I don’t want to play him’: Agbonlahor suggests Erling Haaland is scared of the Arsenal player
Gabby Agbonlahor gushed about William Saliba and how he scared the Arsenal side after he faced Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
The former Premier League striker says opposing players “don’t want to play him”, citing Manchester City’s Erling Haaland as an example.
Agbonlahor noted that the treble winner in Arsenal’s Community Shield win at Wembley “didn’t want to overtake” William Saliba, he said talkSPORT (08/09/23 at 6:45 am).
Yes, the Premier League season hasn’t started yet, but Arsenal and Saliba did a pretty good job of keeping Haaland at bay over the weekend.
To think that the France international hadn’t shot a senior ball for the club 12 months ago is pretty incredible.
But looking to the present shows he is one of the most important players in his side, with Agbonlahor suggesting he brings with him a certain fear factor.
“You know who I like most in the Arsenal team at the moment,” Agbonlahor said. “It’s Saliba. He is a rock.
“Look, when Haaland got the ball, I think that was in the first half and he didn’t want to throw it past Saliba, so he ran back, away from goal.
“People don’t want to take on Saliba. If he can stay fit all season, they have a better chance (of winning the title).”
Saliba’s injury last season
Many believe that if Saliba hadn’t missed the final months of last season, Mikel Arteta’s side might have been champions.
In the game at the Etihad that Rob Holding played in, Haaland had a great day and ‘destroyed’ the Englishman.
It’s fair to say he wouldn’t do that at Saliba as their Premier League struggles are going to be very, very interesting ahead of the new season.
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