Matthew Upson raves about ‘top’ £27m Arsenal player, he reads the game perfectly

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BBC Sport pundit Matthew Upson was blown away by Arsenal player William Saliba’s defending against Manchester United today.

Upson was commentating on BBC 5 Live and enjoyed one moment in particular from the £27m French international as Arsenal came away with a dramatic 3-1 win thanks to last-minute goals from Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus.

For the fourth game in succession, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta mixed up his defence.

An injury to Thomas Partey forced a reshuffle that saw Ben White move to right-back and Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko make their first league starts.

The one constant was William Saliba, who is one of the most consistent defenders in the Premier League right now.

Upson loved one moment from Saliba in the first half that bailed Arsenal out of trouble.

The Frenchman may only be 22 years old but is happy to take responsibility in high-pressure situations.

Before the match, Saliba admitted that Marcus Rashford was going to be very difficult to play against.

The England international certainly proved that by scoring the opening goal before Martin Odegaard quickly equalised.

Upson raves about Arsenal star Saliba

Commentating on one moment where Saliba dispossessed Anthony Martial, Upson said: “That’s Rolls-Royce defending in there from [William] Saliba, really was top.

“Read the play, got his body across so early.”

Arsenal started the second half on the front foot, although Aaron Ramsdale was forced into one save from Rashford before a couple of brilliant blocks from Arsenal’s defenders.

Mikel Arteta’s side are so much stronger with William Saliba in the centre of defence and today’s match showed that even when the players around him are rotated, he’s the lynchpin in the middle of the back four that makes the difference.

Upson’s assessment of Saliba’s defending today will be shared by many Arsenal fans.

Ever since his first league appearance for the club against Crystal Palace last season, he’s been lauded by the Gunners fan base.

Tying him down to a new deal this year was one of the best pieces of business the club did.

He’s one of the best young defenders in Europe right now and will be playing at the top level for years to come.