Three Arsenal players made it into the BBC and Premier League Teams of the Week after the opening round of matches last weekend.
Starting with the BBC Team of the Week, Gabriel Jesus and William Saliba were both selected for Garth Crooks’ side.
Crooks called Saliba’s debut an “impressive start” and wrote that he’s a “proper defender”. Crooks highlighted the centre-back’s challenge on Wilfried Zaha in the box as an example of the quality and timing of the French international’s defensive efforts.
As for Jesus, Crooks called the Brazilian “electric” and suggested the striker may now have found a manager who believes in his abilities and gives him the chance to impress ahead of the World Cup.
Arsenal also had two entrants in Alan Shearer’s Premier League Team of the Week. Like Crooks, Shearer selected Man-of-the-Match winner Saliba for his side, but he also picked goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Ramsdale had to make big saves from a couple of clear opportunities to maintain his clean sheet against Crystal Palace, one of just five clean sheets from the opening round of matches.
Arsenal made a strong start to the Premier League season with their clean-sheet win over Crystal Palace, but there were also clear areas for improvement.
The Gunners could do a lot more to control the game once they have the lead, and they’ll hope to showcase their ability to do that in the coming run of lower-profile fixtures.
Mikel Arteta’s side won’t play a big-six game until September, so they need to build up some momentum and confidence before then.
