Arsenal vs. Hull: Why William Saliba must not start Premier League clash

Hull City Premier League showdown, Sports Mole site coordinator Ben Knapton discusses why Mikel Arteta should hold back on starting William Saliba, and why the Gunner must embrace their 'boring' style of play. Hull: Why Mikel Arteta should keep William Saliba on the bench Are Arsenal title favourites?

That has been the case since the start of the season, even before it. I will not say it is Arsenal's title to lose until it is literally one second from the final whistle with the title won.

But the table suggests it probably is Arsenal's title to lose. We are not even at the quarter-way point of the season, but Arsenal are top, deservedly so, and they have been the best team in the league.

They can go six points clear with a win against Hull, with Man City not playing until the 5:30 game against Nottingham Forest. What we have seen in recent weeks is that if Arsenal win the league again, it is going to be their defence that wins it for them.

Ezri Konsa has been an absolute revelation, one of the signings of the season at the back. When he came in, it would have been way too harsh to label him simply as Saliba cover.

He was already at a very elite level with Aston Villa, but he has come in and slotted in seamlessly alongside Gabriel. Now that Saliba is back and was on the bench against Slavia Prague, it has given Arteta an incredible defensive dilemma.

Some Arsenal fans will want to see Saliba come straight back in, but he has not played at all since the World Cup and got no minutes in Prague, so he should be on the bench. They have only scored more than two goals in one Premier League game, and that was in the opening game against Coventry.

They should have scored more against Slavia Prague. There were moments in that game I thought they would be four or five-nil up.

Gyokeres put in a brilliant display with a lovely assist for Madueke and a good curling finish in off the post. But so many times in that game it felt like Arsenal just made the wrong decision, held on to the ball for far too long, got robbed of possession far too easily, and then conceded quite a poor goal near the end.