Technical director Edu Gaspar has sent a message of appreciation to the Arsenal fans for their response to William Saliba’s own goal on Saturday.

Though William Saliba’s competitive Emirates Stadium debut was ultimately a success – with Arsenal picking up three points and the centre-back generally performing very well – he had one awful moment as a misjudged header ended up in his own goal.

The Arsenal players looked to lift their teammate, with Aaron Ramsdale quickly jumping up to console and re-motivate Saliba in the immediate aftermath, but the fan response was just as encouraging.

As Saliba got on the ball for the first time after the goal, the supporters broke into applause, which they repeated on his next couple of touches.

Chants of “Oh, William Saliba” rang out in the Clock End, as the fans made it clear they were on his side.

Edu Gaspar enjoyed the moment, praising the reaction of the home support after the game.

“What a great atmosphere today,” Edu wrote on Instagram. “But I have to say how beautiful was the support for [William] Saliba! We are Arsenal! Well done to the fans!”

The reality with young defenders is that they’ll have ups and downs throughout the season.

Saliba won the Man of the Match award against Crystal Palace just a week earlier, and he did plenty right in his performance against Leicester as well. Mistakes happen, and it’s good to see the fans are on his side when they do.