Arsenal’s William Saliba says Tottenham’s atmosphere cannot compete with his former club Marseille
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‘Marseille is better, I promise!’: Arsenal defender William Saliba says Tottenham’s atmosphere can’t compete with his old club, claiming the Gunners don’t feel ‘pressure’ after their win at the Spurs will leave them eight points above
- Arsenal’s French defender admits he has played in more intimidating stadiums
- While admitting it was a ‘great atmosphere’, Saliba believes he can’t beat Marseille
- The 21-year-old and the rest of the Arsenal defense looked impenetrable against Spurs
- The Gunners’ 2-0 win against rivals Tottenham left them eight points clear
Arsenal defender William Saliba believes the raucous atmosphere inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday cannot be compared to that of former club Marseille.
The French centre-back was imperious again as Arsenal’s impenetrable defense held firm in a comfortable 2-0 win in the north London derby.
Despite Tottenham howling the crowd urging their team to disrupt their rivals’ title fight, Saliba and his Gunners teammates were unfazed.
Arsenal defender William Saliba was undeterred by the hostile environment at Tottenham
“No, Marseille is better,” Saliba said after the match, when asked to compare the two.
‘I promise you it’s much better! But there was also a great atmosphere today and I was prepared for this game.”
It was an icy reception for the Gunners, with Aaron Ramsdale bearing the brunt of the wrath of Spurs supporters after a fan jumped over a barrier and kicked the star goalkeeper.
Saliba played for Marseille on loan during the 2021-22 season, a decision that turned out to be a coup for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
He was named Marseille’s Young Player of the Year and has brought that form back to the Emirates, starting in every Premier League game so far this season.
The Spurs crowd was howling for a win to interrupt the Gunners’ Premier League title run.
Sunday’s stunning victory put Arsenal eight points behind their nearest rival, Manchester City.
“There is no pressure because we played for that,” added Saliba. ‘It’s better to have this pressure when you’re up than when you’re down. It’s better to continue like this and we don’t have to have pressure.
‘When I got here, of course we wanted to be in the lead, but I didn’t imagine we would be where we are in January.
“But after the summer, when I saw the team and the mentality, I said to myself: ‘Yeah, we can do something this season.'”
Saliba’s former team, French side Marseille, is famous for its often intimidating atmosphere.
Arsenal face another tough task in their next Premier League outing when they host Manchester United, who beat rival Man City 2-1 on Saturday and will look to reduce the Gunners’ lead at the top.
“It’s never enough,” Saliba said of Arsenal’s eight-point lead. ‘We know we have many games ahead of us. We have to stay focused because things can change quickly.
‘If we lose a game, then we can’t have confidence, so we have to focus on going forward and trying to win. We focus on ourselves.
Arsenal disposed of their north London rivals with relative ease in a 2-0 win against Spurs.
Saliba and company are well aware of the threat posed by United, who beat the Gunners 3-1 in September.
“We know we have a big game next week,” he said. We know they beat us. They are the only team that has beaten us this season in the Premier League and we want to beat them again at home.
“We will prepare this game very well, I think, and hopefully we will win in front of our fans.”
