‘If he doesn’t play’: Pundit says Arsenal could be in trouble if ‘outstanding’ player doesn’t start tomorrow

By Charles Jones

Speaking on Premier League Productions, Clinton Morrison has been previewing Arsenal’s game against Crystal Palace on Sunday and he’s been discussing William Saliba’s availability.

The Frenchman came off with an injury in Arsenal’s last game against Sporting in midweek, and Morrison has concerns about whether or not he will play against Crystal Palace.

Morrison says that Arsenal could struggle in this game without Saliba, stating that it’s a ‘huge blow’ if the ‘outstanding’ defender doesn’t play.

Arsenal could struggle

Morrison gave his verdict on Saliba’s potential absence.

“That’s what I was going to say. You always have that new manager bounce and you will always have the speculation, should you have signed Wilfried Zaha? He always turns it on against Arsenal. You might be struggling because you might not have Saliba. If he doesn’t play on Sunday it’s a huge blow,” Morrison said.

Huge blow

As Morrison says, if Saliba doesn’t play against Palace, this could be a huge blow for Arsenal.

The Frenchman is undoubtedly one of the Gunners’ most important players, and if Palace have any semblance of a new manager bounce going on, they could really get at the north London club’s backline without Saliba.

With all due respect to Rob Holding, he’s the type of player that could be turned inside out by someone like Zaha, Eberechi Eze or Michael Olise, so Arsenal could be in trouble here.

Of course, Arsenal are top of the league, so they are heavy favourites in this one, but as the Premier League has shown time and time again, anything can happen in this league.