90min
·12 December 2024
90min
·12 December 2024
Arsenal defender William Saliba has challenged Arsenal to go through the rest of the season without suffering a single defeat.
Saliba was again impressive in a comfortable 3-0 Champions League victory over Monaco on Wednesday night, extending Arsenal's unbeaten start to the season at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners have won nine of their 11 home matches across all competitions, only drawing against Brighton and Liverpool. The north London outfit haven't lost in front of their own fans since a 2-0 reverse against Aston Villa in mid-April - which represents the only defeat in their last 22 outings in N5.
Reflecting on his side's European victory, Saliba told TNT Sports: "When we start the season, we want to win trophies. And, of course, we are unbeaten at home this season, we have to keep going like that. Let's continue like that, I hope we will be unbeaten until the end of the season."
William Saliba had the measure of Monaco's Breel Embolo / Shaun Botterill/GettyImages
Arsenal sit third in the new-fangled Champions League table, ensuring they are in line for automatic qualification to the round of 16. Mikel Arteta wasn't quite as ambitious as Saliba despite their strong position.
"I think it will depend on the rest of the results," Arteta said of Arsenal's qualification chances. "We are in a good position and we need to get the job done, and there's still a lot to do.
"I'm disappointed we didn't score another three or four especially in the first half, because we had some big, big chances. That's going to be crucial and looking at the table and how tight it is, [goal difference] is going to be really important. We're in a good position, we still have a lot to do."
Saliba's quest for an invincible conclusion to the campaign continues with another outing at the Emirates on Saturday as Everton travel to north London. The Gunners don't return to Champions League action until the end of January, when Croatian strugglers Dinamo Zagreb also make their way to N5.
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