{"id":45895,"date":"2026-04-15T19:44:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T23:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/chris-sutton-names-arsenal-star-in-cruel-not-the-same-player-verdict\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T19:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T23:44:14","slug":"chris-sutton-names-arsenal-star-in-cruel-not-the-same-player-verdict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/chris-sutton-names-arsenal-star-in-cruel-not-the-same-player-verdict\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Sutton names Arsenal star in cruel &#8216;not the same player&#8217; verdict"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/chris-sutton-names-arsenal-star-in-cruel-not-the-same-player-verdict\/#Chris_Sutton_says_William_Saliba_is_no_longer_the_same_player\" >Chris Sutton says William Saliba is no longer the same player<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/chris-sutton-names-arsenal-star-in-cruel-not-the-same-player-verdict\/#Saliba_and_Gabriel_one_of_the_best_defensive_pairs\" >Saliba and Gabriel: one of the best defensive pairs?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>BBC sports pundit Chris Sutton has suggested that Arsenal star William Saliba is no longer performing at the world-class level that made him the rock of Mikel Arteta&#8217;s backline.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The comments were made during a tense Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting CP.<\/p>\n<p>Sutton insisted the 25-year-old Frenchman&#8217;s individual aura and credibility were beginning to flicker in the high-stakes 2025\/26 season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <span role=\"presentation\"><u>apple<\/u><\/span>  &#038; <span role=\"presentation\"><u>Google play<\/u><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Chris_Sutton_says_William_Saliba_is_no_longer_the_same_player\"><\/span>Chris Sutton says William Saliba is no longer the same player<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sutton expressed concern about Saliba&#8217;s recent form, noting that since his return from injury the authoritative presence that once defined him has diminished.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;William Saliba has played well at the back since he joined the team, but he is not the player he used to be,&#8221; Sutton said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Arsenal were very disappointing in the final third, but defensively they lacked the &#8216;clockwork&#8217; precision we&#8217;ve seen. Strangely, Noni Madueke didn&#8217;t have the confidence to get past Maxi Araujo, but that has more to do with their combination play from the back. It should be seamless, but it&#8217;s not the case right now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sutton&#8217;s criticism highlights a growing sense of frustration as Arsenal go through a make-or-break week.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Saliba_and_Gabriel_one_of_the_best_defensive_pairs\"><\/span>Saliba and Gabriel: one of the best defensive pairs?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Over the past two seasons, the partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalh\u00e3es has been statistically recognized as the most formidable duo in the country.<\/p>\n<p>But recent lapses, including the defensive miscommunication that led to Bournemouth&#8217;s win, have raised questions about whether fatigue is building.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Sutton&#8217;s harsh assessment, Saliba remains a key element in Arsenal&#8217;s side chasing a historic double.<\/p>\n<p>With captain Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka sidelined with injuries, Saliba&#8217;s responsibility to anchor the team is greater than ever.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BBC sports pundit Chris Sutton has suggested that Arsenal star William Saliba is no longer performing at the world-class level that made him the rock of Mikel Arteta&#8217;s backline. The comments were made during a tense Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting CP. Sutton insisted the 25-year-old Frenchman&#8217;s individual aura and credibility were beginning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-45895","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}