Saliba suffered an untimely injury with just 11 games to go (Picture: Getty)
William Saliba has claimed that Arsenal would have won the Premier League last season had he not suffered an injury in the title run-in.
The centre-back enjoyed a breakthrough season with the Gunners, becoming a lynchpin of Mikel Arteta’s defence as they battled Manchester City for the title.
Arsenal had built a lead at the top of the league after an impressive start to the season but Saliba’s absence was felt after he went off injured against Sporting Lisbon in March.
The France international was ruled out of the final 11 games of the season with a back injury and a downturn in defensive performances without him at the heart of defence ultimately proved costly as City usurped Arsenal to claim their third consecutive title.
Reminiscing on last season, Saliba feels that it could have ended differently if he had not suffered that unfortunate injury.
‘Last year, I had a good season,’ he said, speaking to Telefoot.
‘Unfortunately, I got injured during the year, in the final sprint. It’s clear that I was a little disappointed, but there you go, it’s a new season with new ambitions, I hope we will do better.
Saliba has returned to the starting XI since picking up the back injury against Sporting (Picture: Getty)
‘It’s clear that with me, Arsenal could have been champions. But now, injuries are part of football, and we are focused on this season.’
Back in the starting lineup this season having recovered from his injury over the summer, Saliba has once again proven his quality alongside Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of Arsenal’s defence.
Arteta’s side have kept three clean sheets in seven games – most recently in their comprehensive 4-0 away win against Bournemouth on Saturday – and have conceded the joint-second fewest number of goals in the league.
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The Gunners remain just one of three teams unbeaten in the league so far this season and are now just one point behind City at the top of the table after Pep Guardiola’s side suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Wolves.
Arsenal will have a chance to move ahead of City when they host their title rivals in a crunch fixture next weekend. Before that, they face a trip to France to take on Lens in the Champions League on Tuesday.
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