William Saliba reveals what Arsenal need to get their confidence back
The Gunners will face Inter on Wednesday evening hoping to soothe the pain of a costly 1-0 defeat at Newcastle
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.William Saliba is confident Arsenal can rekindle their season as they attempt to bounce back from Premier League disappointment at Newcastle against European rivals Inter Milan.
The Gunners head for the San Siro on Wednesday evening hoping to soothe the pain of a costly 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park on Saturday by banking three Champions League points.
Success in Italy would prove the perfect preparation for next Sunday’s short league trip to Chelsea,and the France international sees no reason why both games cannot go in their favour.
He told the club’s official website: “Next week, we have two big games to come back with the win. I think we will do it if we give everything.
“(Inter is) a big game. If we win, we have the confidence back and we have to do it. We all want to play big games like these.”
Arsenal found themselves trailing new leaders Liverpool by seven points on Saturday evening with Manchester City surprisingly having gone down 2-0 at Bournemouth after Alexander Isak’s goal condemned them to a second successive 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park.
The Gunners enjoyed long periods of possession in the game, but lacked the craft to break down Eddie Howe’s well-organised side.
Asked afterwards if the absence of injured skipper Martin Odegaard was a factor in that, head coach Mikel Arteta said: “We don’t have him. We can discuss that all day long.
“We haven’t had him for the last four or six weeks and we don’t have him yet. But we have many other answers that have been very effective. Today we need to look at ourselves and congratulate Newcastle and move on.”
Saliba too admitted he and his team-mates had not been at their best, and that they did not deserve to win the game.
The defender, who returned to league action at Newcastle after suspension, said: “We are a bit sad because we wanted to win here today. Unfortunately we didn’t because I don’t think we played our best game. But we have to stick together and be ready for next week.
“Maybe we deserved a point, but I do not think we deserved to win today. They had one chance and they scored. We were on top trying to equalise, but I think we have to do better.
“The game is finished and we have to be focused on what’s coming. When you lose, there’s not a lot of positive things, but it’s okay, we don’t have to be so sad.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments