Arsenal player told they may have had their worst ever game vs Newcastle

Add as preferred source on Google

It’s been a real rollercoaster of a week for Arsenal.

The Gunners were on cloud nine on Sunday as they beat Manchester City 5-1 at the Emirates in a statement win.

Arsenal were on top of the world after that win, but, some issues quickly began to arise less than 24 hours later after Arsenal failed to make a single signing on deadline day.

Arsenal bid for Ollie Watkins last week, while Arsenal also made an approach for Evan Ferguson, but neither of those deals came to fruition.

Then, to make matters worse, Arsenal lost to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, and it was a poor performance by many of the Gunners’ key players.

Kai Havertz was criticised after the game, and speaking on the BBC Radio Five Live Football Daily Podcast, Matt Upson has singled out another player for criticism.

• READ MORE: Arsenal told two of their players were not even up for the fight in 2-0 Carabao Cup loss vs Newcastle

William Saliba was more shaky than ever vs Newcastle

Upson shared his verdict on William Saliba’s performance against Newcastle.

The pundit says that Saliba has never looked as shaky as he did on Wednesday, claiming that the Gunners’ defence, largely, looked very sluggish.

“You saw mistakes as well, Chris. I’ve never seen Saliba look as shaky as what he did, whether it was Isak that made him feel that way or Gordon, and then the mistake from David Raya with the pass and the early offside goal, which was a brilliant ball from Gordon. But the two centre backs for Arsenal, which are normally really tuned in, to me they just looked a little bit sluggish with their decision making and just had an off night tonight,” Upson said.

William Saliba stats vs Newcastle

Arsenal fans criticised Saliba after his performance against Newcastle, and it’s easy to see why.

Alexander Isak gave the defender the absolute run around, and the stats show that Saliba was off his game completely.

The Frenchman didn’t make a single tackle or interception during this match, and while Saliba is usually so calm on the ball, he made three clearances in the game whereas he’d usually look to play out from the back.

Meanwhile, the £27m man misplaced almost 20% of his passes, while he was caught in possession a couple of times as well.

This really wasn’t Saliba’s day, and while Arsenal won 5-1 against City at the weekend, Saliba was also bullied for Erling Haaland’s goal in that game.

It hasn’t been an easy patch of form for Saliba, that’s for sure, and Arsenal’s key defender needs to get back to his best soon.