Ferdinand picks Saliba over Man Utd star in debate as Arsenal flight delayed
Arsenal face their first Champions League away day for the first time in over six years when they travel to Lens on Tuesday - and Mikel Arteta is expecting a "huge battle" in northern France.
The Gunners earned a 4-0 victory over PSV in their opening Champions League encounter last month, with Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard scoring for Arteta's side. Since that game, they drew 2-2 against Tottenham in the north London derby, before beating Brentford and Bournemouth.
They are the only Premier League team still unbeaten in all competitions this season and the Gunners will be aiming to keep that run going against Lens, who drew 1-1 with Sevilla in their first Champions League group stage game of the season. The Ligue 1 side have made a mixed start to the season, winning two of their eight games.
Here is the latest news from the Emirates.
Ferdinand picks Saliba
Rio Ferdinand has claimed he pick William Saliba over Lisandro Martinez if he had to chose between the duo - and believes the Arsenal centre-back has the potential to go to the "top".
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Saliba has been impressive for the Gunners since cementing his place in the side at the start of last season. He has started in every Premier League match so far this term and is pivotal to the way Arteta's side play.
Ex-Manchester United defender was quizzed about who he would pick between Saliba and Martinez, and he opted for the Arsenal man. "I would go Saliba. I think Saliba could potentially be top, top, top," he told talkSPORT. "Martinez answered a lot of critics last year, a lot of doubters about his size and stuff like that. Fantastic on the ball.
"This one, you're helped by the team you're playing for. He's in a very solid, consistent team, Saliba. Martinez isn't."
William Saliba in action for Arsenal on Saturday (Getty Images)Arsenal flight delayed
Arsenal were struck at Luton Airport on Monday evening as their flight to France was delayed because of stormy conditions in Bedfordshire.
This also caused Mikel Arteta's pre-Lens press conference to be cancelled as the Spaniard ended up meeting the media over the phone to discuss a range of different topics, including the fitness of Bukayo Saka.
When he eventually spoke to the press, Arteta said of Saka: "He's fine. He's much better. It was a big knock but he has recovered well and trained with us today."
Meanwhile, Arteta also weighed in on the VAR debate following Tottenham's win over Liverpool, when Luis Diaz's first-half strike was disallowed for offside. "It's not easy for them. It's not easy for any club or any manager because that really affects part of the season or a result and that is a dangerous thing to do," he added.
Read more here.
Arsenal have been stuck at Luton Airport ahead of their trip to Lens (Getty Images)Arteta on Lens
Arteta has heaped praise on Lens despite the Ligue 1 side having a tough start to the season.
"Well I’ve been really impressed," he said. "What they did last year is incredible to be within a point of the title. The way they did it, the form they had at home.
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"This season they’ve been really unlucky with some of the results they’ve had. At home they’ve got just one point and I don’t know how. So we expect a huge battle tomorrow. We’re more than aware of it. We showed the players everything and we have a huge test tomorrow."
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