Kolo Toure names Arsenal player who’s been ‘unbelievable’ this season

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Kolo Toure has labelled the form of William Saliba unbelievable this season, admitting that replacing him is a huge task for Arsenal while he is injured.

Toure was speaking to The Times ahead of Wednesday’s monumental game between Arsenal and Manchester City, two clubs the Ivorian has won the Premier League title with.

The game pits the top two against each other. And it would not be a stretch to suggest that either side would become overwhelming favourites for the title should they win at the Etihad Stadium.

Toure impressed by William Saliba

Arsenal, of course, need to put an end to a run of three games without a win. They have conceded seven goals in their last three, drawing all of them.

It is hard to not feel that the absence of William Saliba has really hurt Mikel Arteta’s side. Rob Holding has done fairly well. But he does not appear to be on the same level as the Frenchman.

And when asked about the 21-year-old, Toure has suggested that he has been incredibly impressed by the youngster this season.

“Saliba has been unbelievable with Gabriel at the back. He’s done a fantastic job,” he told The Times. “Both of them, you can see they have a great link, they’ve both been in France and I’m sure they speak French on the pitch. But now, of course, it’s very difficult for the player who replaces him [Saliba is injured] but they need to find a connection very quickly.”

The worry for Arsenal is that there are concerns that Saliba may play no further part in this campaign. The Athletic suggested this week that there are worries that the £27 million star’s back injury could rule him out for the rest of the season.

Kevin Campbell suggested that Rob Holding had done a decent job since coming in. But Arsenal are just missing that extra ingredient which suggests that Saliba is destined for the very top.

And having come so far with an extremely settled side, there is no doubt that losing such a key component at this stage of the season is having major consequences for the Gunners.