‘Didn’t feel comfortable’… Ian Wright admits he was worried about £27m Arsenal player vs Aston Villa

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Ian Wright has admitted he ‘didn’t feel comfortable’ while watching Arsenal’s William Saliba deal with the threat of Ollie Watkins on Saturday.

Speaking on the Kelly and Wrighty Show, the Arsenal legend feels William Saliba did well against the Aston Villa star. But he also praised Ollie Watkins for keeping Saliba ‘occupied’.

The Gunners fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Villa Park after John McGinn’s early strike.

The defeat saw Arsenal knocked off their perch at the top of the table as Liverpool picked up a narrow win at Crystal Palace. 

While the result was disappointing from an Arsenal point of view, they arguably deserved at least a point from the game. After an early onslaught from Villa, the Gunners limited Unai Emery’s side to very few openings and created plenty of chances on the day. 

Indeed, Kai Havertz had the ball in the back of the net but it was ruled out due to a handball in the build-up. Gabriel Jesus also had a strong appeal for a penalty turned down by the referee and the VAR.

Arsenal lacked cutting edge in the final third on Saturday but their defensive performance can’t be faulted.

Saliba earned praise from Jamie Carragher during the game and put in another commanding display at centre-back.

But Ian Wright was worried about the threat of Watkins during the game, despite Saliba’s brilliant performance.

Wright didn’t feel comfortable with Saliba during Villa clash

Speaking on the Kelly and Wright Show, the Arsenal legend admitted he was far from at ease with the threat Watkins posed Arsenal on Saturday.

“With Ollie Watkins, as well as Saliba did, he kept him occupied,” Wright said. “I just didn’t feel comfortable with it and that’s why they’ve got 14 wins there.”

It was an intriguing battle between Saliba and Watkins as the Villa striker put the Frenchman under constant pressure with his tireless work rate.

But the £27 million Arsenal star stood up to the challenge well. Watkins did cause Saliba some problems on occasion, but the Frenchman kept him relatively quiet throughout the game. 

Saliba is undoubtedly among the best centre-backs in the league at the moment and he continues to impress for the Gunners.

At 22, the defender hasn’t even reached the peak of his powers yet and Arsenal have a real talent on their hands here.

You can see why Wright didn’t feel ‘comfortable’ during Saturday’s game as Watkins put Saliba under huge pressure throughout the game by chasing loose balls and running the channels.

But it’s fair to say that the centre-back more than held his own and was unfortunate to be on the losing side in the end.