Alan Shearer hails ‘superb’ Arsenal talent who Gunners risk losing this summer

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Arsenal had a fantastic season but it did falter towards the end and Alan Shearer believes the club massively missed Wiliam Saliba.

Arsenal finished second, which is a great achievement, but they will be gutted as they were top of the Premier League for over 200 days.

As we started to get to the end of the season, the club started to drop off and struggle to get wins. Matches against Liverpool, Southampton and West Ham in which they drew were pivotal in them losing the title.

Defender William Saliba got injured in March and missed the rest of the season. This was a huge loss for the club as he was their best defender of the season before that.

Alan Shearer places Arsenal star William Saliba in his Team of the Season

Despite only being 22 years-old, Saliba played his debut season in the Premier League and massively impressed all who watched.

Alan Shearer placed the Frenchman in his Team of the Season via the Premier League website. He said: “He’s been superb in most of the matches, and when he hasn’t played, Arsenal definitely missed him.”

It is no shock to hear Shearer say Arsenal missed Saliba. His injury is definitely a huge reason for their title charge finishing with them in second place.

After his injury in mid-March, Arsenal had 11 games in the division. In these games, they won five, drew three and lost three. This was not like their title challenging form they had with Saliba in the side.

The player is still on the sidelines, so manager Mikel Arteta will be hoping he has recovered from his injury before pre-season starts.

And then obviously there’s the issue of Saliba’s future. The Sun recently claimed that the Gunners were left ‘shocked’ by Saliba’s wage demands to pen a new deal.

Arsenal’s initial £120,000-a-week offer is apparently nowhere close to what the player’s representatives have in mind. This is why a deal seemingly remains in the balance.

To make things worse, French champions Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly eyeing Saliba. Arsenal now ‘fear’ they could lure him away by paying him whatever it takes.