With Saliba out and fans losing hope, can Arteta revamp Arsenal’s defense in time to challenge Liverpool? Guardiola issues a 10-year warning.
Presently, a series of hot debates are circling in the wake of the precarious situation Arsenal are finding themselves in. More especially after the last match against Southampton-where their regular key defender William Saliba got a red card and has since been suspended for three matches, including the Liverpool match-maybe over half of the world are even wondering: Can Arsenal survive without him?
And now that he is out, the supporters have gone into panic mode, with many saying only Saliba can save Arsenal’s defense. With Liverpool next, some fans are already predicting doom, fearing Mohamed Salah will run riot without Saliba to stop him. The general feeling is that the defense will not hold for Arsenal, and that this might be a potential heavy defeat.
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But the thing is, football is a team sport, and the absence of one man should not define the fate of the team. And this is where Mikel Arteta needs to come in, showing just why he is the right man to take Arsenal forward.
And that is where many have written off Arsenal, but they perhaps underestimate how well Arteta can adapt. Of course, Saliba is an important player, but this is football; you need to find solutions. Arteta can change Arsenal’s shape and tactically alter their approach to cover for the absence of Saliba. This is perhaps the perfect opportunity for Arteta to show the world that Arsenal are not dependent on just one player.
Yet again, Manchester City’s boss Pep Guardiola weighed in on this matter. Guardiola hailed Arsenal’s resilience, especially in that tough match against Man City when Arsenal, with only 10 men on the pitch, held their ground. As Guardiola said, Arsenal is still a strong team, and the absence of one player shouldn’t make them collapse. He has stressed that their strength will come out in the contribution of the whole squad.
But at the same moment, Guardiola addressed an urgent warning to Arteta. He thinks that in case Arteta won’t do anything now, Arsenal will face ten more years without success. He underlined that many Arsenal fans are depressed and hopeless because they believe the team just can’t perform without Saliba. Guardiola strongly disagrees with this point of view. He managed to remind everybody that a team is successful if it has several strong defenders who can replace others in case of necessity.
For Arsenal to be competitive, more so in a league as competitive as the Premier League, they have got to have that depth. That cannot just fall on one player. Arteta has to rebuild that defense and make sure every defender can play at a high level, even when a key player is not available, like Saliba.
Can Arsenal Beat Liverpool Without Saliba?
Of course, Liverpool is the formidable opponent, and with Salah in the best form, the game is already won for many for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Still, football is unpredictable. While there might be trouble for the Gunners, they do still have the talent and tactical acumen to pull off an upset. With the right adjustments in place, Arteta can get the mindset of the team back on track and formulate a game plan that might just surprise Liverpool.
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The pressure is on Arteta to prove that Arsenal can thrive even without their star defender. Guardiola’s advice is crystal clear: it is not one player that makes the difference in any team’s success but collective strength. If Arteta takes this to heart, Arsenal might not just survive the next three matches-they might even come out stronger.
