Ezri Konsa won eight of his nine duels at Anfield on Sunday, and on a day when Liverpool failed to land a single shot on target, he was the calmest man on the pitch.
That performance could not have come at a better time. William Saliba is edging closer to a return from the back injury that has kept him out of every game this season, and Mikel Arteta will soon have to decide who partners Gabriel Magalhaes when both are fit.
It is the sort of problem managers pray for. For most of the last few seasons, Saliba next to Gabriel was the first thing written on the Arsenal teamsheet. Now the man brought in to cover for him is playing well enough to make that a genuine debate.
How good was Ezri Konsa at Anfield?
Very. Ezri Konsa won eight of nine duels, made eight clearances, five tackles, five recoveries and two blocks, and won two fouls, according to Opta. Kai Havertz’s 16th-minute goal from a Declan Rice cross won the game, but the defending is what kept it won.
For the first time in the Premier League era, Liverpool went through a game at Anfield without a shot on target. That is a collective effort, starting with David Raya and the midfield in front of the back four, but the centre-back pairing deserves most of the credit. You can read how the afternoon unfolded in our Liverpool 0-1 Arsenal report, which ended a 14-year wait for a league win on Merseyside.
What stands out is how settled Konsa and Gabriel already look. They have only been together since the summer, yet they read each other like a partnership that has been around for years.
A £51m signing who already looks like a bargain
Arsenal paid Aston Villa £51m for the 29-year-old England defender in August, a move made because Saliba’s injury had left a hole at the heart of the defence. The club could have shuffled the pack instead. Christian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber can all play centrally, but Arsenal chose to bring in an established name from outside.
Thirteen appearances in, that call looks spot on. Konsa has carried his Villa form straight into north London, and his displays have gone a long way to making Gooners forget who was in the side before him.
There is a bonus, too. Like Timber, Calafiori and Hincapie before him, Konsa is not limited to one role. He can play at right-back as well, which gives Arteta cover across the back line in a season where Arsenal intend to fight on every front.
When is William Saliba back?
Saliba has not played for Arsenal this season. The back problem he had been managing for some time, while playing through pain in the title run-in, worsened on World Cup duty and forced him off after 30 minutes of France’s semi-final against Spain on 14 July.
Arsenal confirmed afterwards that surgery was not recommended and that he would follow a managed rehabilitation programme. In August, Arteta described the defender as being in “rest mode”. By mid-October the manager said every sign had been very, very positive, with another MRI scan planned, and he has since said Saliba has been training individually for more than a week, while stressing it is a very specific injury and the timeline is still a matter of weeks.
Reports on Monday night suggested Saliba had rejoined first-team training, although the club has not confirmed it. Either way, the expectation is that he will not be ready for matches until around the end of November, so Konsa and Gabriel look set to keep going for a while yet.
What it means for Slavia Prague and Hull
The Gunners are three points clear at the top of the Premier League and have two games before the international break: Slavia Prague away in the Champions League on Wednesday at 8pm UK time, then Hull City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
With Saliba still unavailable, we expect Konsa and Gabriel to start in Prague, as they do in our Arsenal predicted lineup vs Slavia Prague. The bigger question comes after the break, once Saliba is fit and Arteta has to pick two from three.
Verdict: Konsa has earned the right to stay in the side
Saliba at his best is one of the finest centre-backs in Europe, and nobody at Arsenal will want to rush him back after a summer like that. But Konsa has done more than keep the seat warm. He has helped build a defence that has just shut Liverpool out at Anfield without facing a shot on target.
The smart route is to bring Saliba back gradually and let the competition do its work. Over a long season with Premier League, Champions League and cup football, Arsenal will need three top centre-backs, not two, and for once Arteta has exactly that.
