Mikel Arteta credits Arsenal’s ‘big lads’ after Burnley victory as he backs William Saliba to become a dominant force in the air after crucial header
- Arsenal beat Burnley 3-1 in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon
- William Saliba headed home Arsenal’s second goal from a corner
- Why we should get excited about Cole Palmer – Listen here to It’s All Coming Up
As William Saliba rose head and shoulders above the Burnley backline, awaiting Leandro Trossard’s corner, you could sense where the ball would go.
It duly ended up in the back of the net for Arsenal’s second goal.
Their third, courtesy of an Oleksandr Zinchenko scissor-kick, initially came from Burnley centre back Dara O’Shea heading the ball on to his own bar.
O’Shea did that because of the pressure being put on him by Saliba in the air again. At 6ft 4in, the France defender is a real handful at corners but, until this game, had not scored this season.
When asked about these two goals, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: ‘We are big lads! Willy is a real presence but he hasn’t showed yet that skill consistently and we are really working with him because he can be much more dominant, and the goal today is a real example of that.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is proud of his side for becoming a real threat from set-pieces
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‘Credit to the coaches and to him as well for the work they are doing. We are the team that generates the most set-pieces, teams are really low against us and preventing the spaces so it is a really good way for us to score goals as well.’
The numbers show a pattern. After 12 league matches, the north London club have won 153 aerial duels across the pitch, and had 21 headers at goal.
This time last season, it was 138 aerial duels won and 18 headers.
The aerial improvement makes sense, particularly when you look across the back line.
In Zinchenko, Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Takehiro Tomiyasu — who has an unusual build for a full back at 6ft 2in — the Gunners have a physical presence that has not been there in years gone by.
Zinchenko is 5ft 9in, but Ben White, who was not in the squad on Saturday as a precaution, would usually start and is 6ft 2in.
Their recent typical back four (of White, Saliba, Gabriel and Tomiyasu) is the tallest starting defence in Arsenal’s Premier League history.
William Saliba celebrates after putting Arsenal back in front with an important header
Further up the pitch, there’s Kai Havertz, whose biggest contribution thus far has been winning aerial duels.
It is why the Gunners were more than happy to see the ball cross the byline time and again — they had 13 corners to Burnley’s three.
Arteta has clearly recognised an area to exploit and is doing so against sides who are happy to sit back and relinquish the lion’s share of possession.
Burnley had their chances, Johann Berg Gudmundsson denied in the first half by an excellent David Raya save, and Luca Koleosho stopped from shooting at an open goal by a last-ditch Saliba tackle, yet it was from corners that Arsenal were able to regain control.
The best sides find different ways to win, regardless of the opposition, and this was a blueprint Arsenal fans can expect to see again this season.
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