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Opinion
William Saliba has already shown Mikel Arteta he can play at striker for Arsenal with stunning hat-trick in training
Mikel Merino saved the day for Arsenal in the absence of Kai Havertz on Saturday.
The Spaniard popped up with two excellent finishes in the final ten minutes to secure a 2-0 win over Leicester City, keeping Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 25 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 60 | 24 | 36 | 60 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 25 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 51 | 22 | 29 | 53 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 25 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 41 | 29 | 12 | 47 |
| 4 |  Man CityManchester City | 25 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 52 | 35 | 17 | 44 |
It came after Havertz tore his hamstring during the warm weather training camp in Dubai, which left Mikel Arteta without a recognised senior striker, following a serious injury to Gabriel Jesus in January as well.
The Spaniard revealed that William Saliba volunteered himself to play as a striker in the meantime, saying: “Willy is so funny. Straight away, it’s one of his reactions (to volunteer himself).”
Arteta did not seem to take that suggestion seriously as he described the comment as “funny” – although the France international has previously shown some strong attacking qualities in training for OGC Nice.
William Saliba scored a superb hat-trick in training for OGC Nice
The Frenchman was loaned to OGC Nice for the second half of the 2020/21 campaign, where he seemingly tormented some of his teammates in training.
As you can see on – we cannot embed the footage for copyright reasons – Saliba seems very comfortable when it comes to taking on defenders and finishing chances.
The Arsenal No.2 can even be seen throwing in some sharp stepovers and flicks.
Saliba actually used to play as a striker – so his talent when it comes to going forward should not surprise anybody.
For what it’s worth, Raheem Sterling boasts a decent record playing as a striker, although the England international struggled to assert himself when starting in that role against Leicester.
Mikel Arteta is equipped to make bold change for Arsenal
If Arteta did opt to take Saliba’s suggestion seriously, Arsenal can cope with such a change.
The Gunners had Ben White, Jakub Kiwior and Riccardo Calafiori all on the bench against Leicester, so one of those three could easily come in alongside Gabriel Magalhaes if the 23-year-old is pushed further forward.