Why Mikel Arteta won't need one-to-one with William Saliba despite Arsenal star's difficult spell

Two-time Premier League winner Lauren has insisted that Mikel Arteta will not need to have a meeting with William Saliba to keep his confidence up after a difficult week for the Arsenal defender.

Saliba has been one half of a centre-back partnership that has taken the Premier League by storm in recent seasons, but the Frenchman will have to admit he has enjoyed better weeks in his young career. Last Monday, the central defender received heavy criticism from the French press for his performance in the 2-1 victory over Belgium in the Nations League.

Upon his return to domestic football on Saturday, the defender was given his marching orders after just half an hour as VAR adjudged Saliba had prevented a goalscoring opportunity. The decision means the 23-year-old will be forced to sit out the crucial Premier League clash next weekend against Liverpool, much to the frustration of everyone at the Emirates Stadium.

Speaking to Football.london, NewBettingSites.uk ambassador Lauren believes Saliba has the right mentality to overcome these latest setbacks. "I thought the red card was a bit harsh because I thought Ben White was on the run and in line with Saliba so I thought it was a bit harsh," he explained, "This kind of situation wouldn’t be a red card elsewhere.

"I believe Saliba is a big player and we saw with his absence last year when we lost him in a key moment in the league and we lost some games, we struggled to get the results without Saliba. Two players - Saliba and Gabriel - have been magnificent in recent years.

"It was a big blow on Saturday for sure and let’s see if [Riccardo] Calafiori will be able to do the same job together with Gabriel, and I hope he will do. There is nothing to say, nothing to say [between Arteta and Saliba].

"When you play for a big team, you know mentally when you play well and you are playing fantastically, you are not going to kiss the moon. When you do something wrong, you are not playing as well as your expected performance, you don’t go in on yourself - this is football.

"When you play for a top team, you know how to balance the good moments and the bad. I don’t think there is anything to say to Saliba because we all make mistakes and it is all about balancing the mental side and it is not going to be a problem for him. He is a massive player for us, he knows that so there is not much to say."

Saliba's suspension is only valid for the Premier League so he will be in contention to start on Tuesday night when the Gunners host Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.