Hello and welcome to coverage from all over the Premier League leading up to Arsenal’s clash with Leicester City at the Emirates.
Arsenal made an impressive start to the season last week, beating Crystal Palace. One of Arsenal’s stars has been William Saliba, who is the latest youngster to come into the squad, and Mikel Arteta has accepted that young players like Saliba will make mistakes this season and insisted he is ready to “pay the bill” for those mistakes , as they continue to develop as a team.
Arsenal were once again the youngest team in the Premier League in the first round of fixtures, having also been the youngest team in the division all of last season.
“With the portfolio of young and developing players we have in our squad, you have to pay a bill,” Arteta said of the risk that Saliba, just 21, will inevitably make mistakes this season.
“And that reckoning is that at some stage they’re going to make mistakes, they’re going to experience things for the first time, and they have to go through that process.”
Meanwhile, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists he is happy with his squad despite only 21 senior players and just 14 outfield players available for today’s trip to Bournemouth, with Aymeric Laporte and Calvin Phillips injured and Cole Palmer a doubt .
“I’m very, very happy with the squad – it’s not big in terms of numbers but there’s incredible flexibility and they’ve all got huge quality – even the young academy guys,” he said.
“The quality is there, they just need to push each other to the next step this season. If no one moves, I think no one will enter.
The only possible big departure could be Bernardo Silva, still a Barcelona target, although Guardiola is desperate for him to stay.
“I want Bernardo here, 100, 110 percent I want him to stay,” Guardiola said.
“I love him. I get goosebumps talking about him! He’s a special guy. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but he knows how much we like him and want him and love him.”
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