3. William Saliba
The two usual suspects. Once again, Saliba was absolutely immense for the Gunners, keeping Erling Haaland completely quiet. The Norwegian didn’t even have a shot all game, let alone a scoring chance.
At one point in the first half, Saliba bodied Haaland completely legally in what could have been a very dangerous situation, leaving Haaland on the ground and the ball comfortably in Arsenal’s possession.
Later on, it seemed that he had tripped himself up but somehow, he ended up turning with the ball, killing the City attack and launching Arsenal onto the front foot. He was always where he needed to be and it was one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt, which is really saying something.
His partnership with Gabriel looks increasingly secure with every game and the trio of them and Rice is incredible at the moment. Long may it continue.
Continued on the next slide…
pic.twitter.com/JTsxWoIiYc
<p>— J C (@AFCShad0w) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/08/4-standout-players-from-huge-1-0-victory-over-city/3/"https://twitter.com/AFCShad0w/status/1711076047859683726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>October 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>3. William Saliba</h2>
<p>The two usual suspects. Once again, Saliba was absolutely immense for the Gunners, keeping Erling Haaland completely quiet. The Norwegian didn’t even have a shot all game, let alone a scoring chance.</p>
<p>At one point in the first half, Saliba bodied Haaland completely legally in what could have been a very dangerous situation, leaving Haaland on the ground and the ball comfortably in Arsenal’s possession.</p>
<p>Later on, it seemed that he had tripped himself up but somehow, he ended up turning with the ball, killing the City attack and launching Arsenal onto the front foot. He was always where he needed to be and it was one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt, which is really saying something.</p>
<p>His partnership with Gabriel looks increasingly secure with every game and the trio of them and Rice is incredible at the moment. Long may it continue.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/08/4-standout-players-from-huge-1-0-victory-over-city/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #4 standout performer </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p>https://twitter.com/JH4AFC/status/1711072278853660918</p>
<h2>4. Ben White</h2>
<p>It was Ben White’s birthday today but he was the one handing out a present to all Arsenal fans: his performance.</p>
<p>He had a sensational game today; very solid defensively and offered so much in attack. The overlapping run he so often does is so good at destabilising a defence and he found himself in space a few times.</p>
<p>He hardly ever loses the ball, and he even dished out a signature nutmeg against Jéremy Doku, similar to the one against Mason Mount last season. There were doubts about how he would deal with the Belgian winger, and I was slightly worried about Doku being subbed on. I definitely shouldn’t have. White kept him completely silent.</p>
<p>The Arsenal defence was almost perfect today, and City really only had a chance to score from their first corner in the fourth minute.</p>
<div class="embed ">
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<p>Arteta should be very, very proud of his team today. It wasn’t the greatest game or the prettiest win but the Gunners got over the line and sit above City in the table. It should give the team a massive boost which they should be able to carry over the international break into the clash with Chelsea in two weeks.</p>
<p>COYG!</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
