William Saliba remains optimistic about Arsenal’s chances in the Premier League title race, despite the team experiencing another setback following their 1-0 loss to Newcastle this afternoon.
After finishing a close second to Manchester City last season, Arsenal has struggled to regain their momentum this year, managing to secure only five victories in their opening ten league matches.
The Gunners traveled to St James’ Park with hopes of securing a vital win to lift their spirits, especially after recently dropping points in their previous two games.
However, a 12th-minute header from Alexander Isak turned out to be the decisive goal, leaving Arsenal unable to respond and resulting in them registering just one shot on target during the entire match.
This defeat allowed Newcastle to climb into ninth place, while Arsenal fell five points behind the league leaders, Manchester City.
City, for their part, is looking to increase their lead with a match against Bournemouth later today.
Following the match, Saliba expressed his disappointment to TNT Sports, saying, “We are all a bit sad because we wanted to win today.
Unfortunately, we didn’t play the way we wanted, and we deserved to lose.
We didn’t perform as we should have, and they played well. But it’s okay, we’re focused on next week. It’s not over.”
He highlighted the importance of maintaining team unity and regrouping to keep their title ambitions alive at this early stage of the season.
Saliba acknowledged the quality of Newcastle’s goal, praising the good cross and finish, but also emphasized that Arsenal could have done better in their response.
“They scored early, and we couldn’t equalize. We need to stick together.
Last season, we went through a similar spell, and we need to stay confident and believe we can bounce back,” he said.
Reflecting on his own contributions, Saliba recognized that he needs to improve upon his recent performance, admitting, “I wasn’t at my best, and I know I need to get back to my top level.
Once I do, we’ll improve as a team, but I have to work to get there.”
Looking ahead, Arsenal is eager to get back on track with their next match set for Wednesday against Inter Milan in the Champions League at the San Siro.
Following that, they will face a crucial London derby against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge the following weekend.
The focus will be on securing positive results in these upcoming fixtures to reignite their season and keep their title hopes alive.
