Alan Shearer lauds superb William Saliba after Arsenal win

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Alan Shearer has told the Premier League website that William Saliba was superb in Arsenal’s win against Bournemouth at the weekend, while he claimed that his goal was magnificent.

Saliba is proving to be every bit as good as Gunners supporters hoped he would be so far this season. It is almost remarkable now to think that he only made his debut for Mikel Arteta’s side on the opening day of this campaign.

He did score an own goal against Leicester. But he has been colossal in the opening three games. And he had his moment to really shine in their latest encounter.

Saliba found the top corner with a delicious effort in the 3-0 win against Bournemouth. It was clear to everyone just how much that goal meant, with the fans serenading the centre-back for much of the game on the south coast.

And his overall display prompted Shearer to include him in his team of the week.

“Superb yet again and what a magnificent first goal for Arsenal,” he told the Premier League website.

William Saliba superb

What has been so impressive about Saliba is the way he has dealt with expectations. As a neutral, you could not avoid learning how he fared for Marseille when you went on social media at the end of a weekend such was the interest from supporters.

The fans were crying out for Saliba to get his chance. Mikel Arteta took a lot of criticism for the way he held fire on giving the youngster his opportunity.

So it would have been easy for Saliba to feel the pressure when the time finally came. And yet, he looks like he has always been playing alongside Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of the Arsenal defence.

Obviously, there are going to be some trickier spells ahead. But the early signs are so positive.