Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
What William Saliba has already said which suggests he could cover for Kai Havertz as Arsenal striker
Arsenal have found themselves in a difficult situation up front as Kai Havertz is now likely to miss the rest of the season due to injury.
Kai Havertz sustained a hamstring injury during Arsenal’s warm-weather training camp in Dubai, with an assessment undertaken after the squad returned to London.
Scan results are understood to have confirmed that Havertz is unlikely to play again this season, although whether he will require surgery is yet to be decided.
In addition, TBR Football understands that Arsenal will not look to the free transfer market in wake of the injury blow to Havertz.
As a result, the Gunners will need to look within their own ranks for a replacement, and Arsenal could perhaps promote a youth team player.
However, TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey has confirmed that Mikel Arteta could look at using one of his defenders in attack.
And one defender in particular has previously spoken of how he used to play as a striker at youth level and not only did he love it, but he scored a lot of goals too.
READ MORE: Arsenal begin talks over extending forward’s contract amid Kai Havertz injury news
William Saliba ‘scored a lot of goals’ as AS Bondy forward
The player in question is William Saliba, who played as a centre-forward for local club AS Bondy when he was a youngster.
He spoke at length with the Arsenal media team about his formative years in football as he started his journey in the game as a striker.
“We won a lot of trophies… so that obviously made the atmosphere really nice too,” Saliba said, as per the club .
“I scored a lot of goals in that team – a lot! Most of the time I played, I scored. If I ever went a game without scoring, then I would always score in the next one.
“I think I was a good player, but I was never the captain or anything like that. It was because I was too young in my head, do you know what I mean?
“I wasn’t very interested in being captain anyway. I was happy to be the main striker!”
Saliba continued: “I always wanted to win. That’s all I wanted when I was a young player. I wanted to win every game and that’s what really motivated me at that age.
“I wanted to score in every game, but I wouldn’t say I was a selfish player. Some strikers are selfish, but I also looked for my teammates too.”
The Arsenal attacking legend’s name William Saliba had on the back of his shirt
Saliba also revealed in a Colney Carpool episode that he had Thierry Henry’s name on the back of his shirt and admitted it wasn’t his choice to switch positions.
As the years went on, Saliba was switched to centre-back and became the world-class defender he is today.
This is common as players develop through the academy ranks and, normally, they wouldn’t get a chance to feature in their old positions.
However, this is not a normal situation at Arsenal and, with Arteta looking at which defender could cover up front, Saliba certainly seems like the best shout.