Thierry Henry labels Arsenal star as the best defender in the Premier League and believes 22-year-old is the finest player in his position 'by a mile'

11 months ago 54

Arsenal burnished their title credentials with a thrilling 4-3 comeback victory
Mikel Arteta's side have the Premier League's joint-best defensive record
Man City are vulnerable, but come the spring they will put on the afterburners. Leaders Arsenal must seize their moment now - Listen to It's All Kicking Off

By Tum Balogun For Mailonline

Published: 07:45 GMT, 6 December 2023 | Updated: 07:45 GMT, 6 December 2023

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has given his opinion on the league's best defender ahead of his former side's thrilling 4-3 comeback win against Luton.

The Gunners continued their bid to claim a first Premier League title since 2004 thanks to Declan Rice 's late winner against the newly-promoted side at Kenilworth Road.

Going into the game Mikel Arteta's side boasted the league's outright best defence having conceded 11 goals in their first 14 games.

And despite the uncharacteristically leaky rearguard on Tuesday night, Henry believes the north Londoners have the division's best defender in their ranks.

The France Under 21 boss even went so far as to claim that the 22-year-old William Saliba is the finest player in his position by some distance.

Thierry Henry believes the Arsenal star is the best defender in the Premier League 'by a mile'

William Saliba has been Arsenal's best performer at the back since came into the starting XI at the start of last season

Mikel Arteta's side boast the division's joint-best defensive record despite conceding three goals on Tuesday night against Luton

'Right now I think he [Saliba] is [the best], by a mile.' Henry said on Amazon Prime Sport. 'The way he can defend a 1v1, the way he allows Arsenal to stay higher [up the pitch] and defend the 45-50 yards behind him is second to none.

'His speed, the way he recovers, and when he recovers the ball he doesn’t just kick it into the stands – he tries to get it back [to his teammates] which is important.

'I was working in France when he was on loan to Marseille [in 2021/22] and I was surprised that Arsenal didn’t keep him because I thought he was better than what we had.

'But he went on loan and he came back and he showed everybody that that was a mistake and now he’s now the best defender in the league.'

Arsenal fans were made to wait to see Saliba in Gunners shirt following his signing from Saint Etienne in 2019 but he has shown the quality his potential promised over the last 18 months.

The young defender spent time on loan with Nice and Marseille before becoming a key piece of Arteta's side last term. His absence from the squad due to injury was sorely felt at the back end of the campaign as Arsenal's title bid faded.