Worse than Saliba: This 3/10 “passenger” should never be in Arsenal’s starting lineup again.

Following a dominant away win over the weekend, Arsenal’s momentum took a hit with another draw, this time against Crystal Palace — marking their 13th stalemate of the Premier League campaign. While the outcome wasn’t catastrophic, it was far from ideal for Mikel Arteta, especially with a crucial Champions League clash looming.

 

The match unfolded at a sluggish pace from the opening whistle to the final one. Aside from Jakub Kiwior and, to a lesser extent, Leandro Trossard — who both found the net — most of Arsenal’s starting XI failed to make an impression.

 

Among the underwhelming performances, William Saliba stood out for the wrong reasons. Despite a solid display against Real Madrid the previous week, marred only by a costly error, Saliba made another unforced mistake this time around — gifting the ball to Jean-Philippe Mateta near the box, who capitalized with a clever finish past David Raya.

 

Ironically, while Kiwior was expected to be the more error-prone defender, he remained composed, whereas Saliba faltered. Arsenal reporter Charles Watts rated Saliba just 5/10, noting he looked off his usual level — arguably a generous assessment.

 

Despite the lapse, Saliba’s quality and value to the team remain unquestioned, and he’s still expected to start in the upcoming European fixture. However, not all his teammates were so lucky.

 

The most disappointing performance of the night arguably came from Raheem Sterling. Making only his 12th start for the Gunners, the Chelsea loanee struggled immensely. He didn’t commit a glaring error like Saliba but failed to offer any offensive threat — consistently making poor decisions, losing possession, and appearing disconnected from the match.

 

Charles Watts didn’t mince words, describing Sterling as a “passenger” and awarding him a harsh but fair 3/10 rating. The numbers further highlighted his ineffective display: zero shots, just 19 touches, 10 passes, no successful dribbles or crosses, and only one duel won out of five.

 

It was, overall, a night Arsenal would prefer to forget. While Saliba is expected to bounce back and play a key role moving forward, Sterling’s display suggests he may not warrant another start before his loan spell concludes.