Footage of William Saliba proves Marcel Desailly wrong for calling Arsenal star 'average'

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·9 November 2023

Footage of William Saliba proves Marcel Desailly wrong for calling Arsenal star 'average'

William Saliba has proven himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League, with impressive performances for Arsenal.
Marcel Desailly disagrees and believes Saliba's individual qualities are not above average, emphasizing the need for him to acclimate to certain associations before reaching the international level.
Both Martin Keown and Rio Ferdinand strongly disagree with Desailly, praising Saliba's complete skill set, consistency, and potential to become a leader at Arsenal.

Football is a subjective sport in many ways. When it comes to rating players, everybody is entitled to their opinions. It is, as the old cliché goes, 'a game of opinions' after all. Even so, there are some things we can all agree on.

For instance, in the Premier League right now, it's fair to say that William Saliba is one of the best defenders. He's proven it time and time again in an Arsenal shirt since breaking into the team at the start of last season – which incidentally has coincided with them becoming genuine title challengers for the first time in years.

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Depending on where he ranks in terms of the best defenders in the division is up for debate, sure. But almost everyone could agree that the 22-year-old is well above 'average'. Incredibly, however, this isn't how former France and Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly sees it. Indeed, the retired footballer recently told GFFN:

"Then there is the one at Arsenal too [Saliba] – he hasn’t yet had the game time to adapt to that necessary association. I don’t believe his individual qualities to be above average. He’s at a very, very high level but not extraordinary. So before absorbing the international level, he needs to acclimatise to those associations."

Saliba dominates vs Sevilla

Perhaps Saliba heard these comments and felt particularly motivated to perform in Arsenal's recent 2-0 Champions League win against Sevilla. Or perhaps the defender is just that good regardless of motivation. Either way, the Frenchman delivered the goods as the Gunners kept a clean sheet at the Emirates and cruised to victory.

According to SofaScore, he finished the game with the best passing accuracy on the pitch, with 79/88 (90%), while only Ben White (99) had more touches than his 95. On top of this, he made two tackles, two interceptions and wasn't dribbled past once in what turned out to be a fairly comfortable evening.

In fact, the only time it ever looked like Sevilla could cause some damage to the Arsenal backline came when Adrià Pedrosa raced towards goal after spotting a bit of space to exploit. However, Saliba showed remarkable speed and skill to charge back and then pull off an exquisitely timed sliding tackle to win the ball back for his team. You can see the footage below.

Martin Keown and Rio Ferdinand defend William Saliba amid criticism

Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, ex-Arsenal centre-back and club icon Martin Keown hit back at the criticism from Desailly, saying he doesn't understand it at all. In full, he explained:

"William Gallas has said something similar, and I really can't understand that. Desailly, with respect, of course, was an outstanding central defender. But I think Saliba has got a complete skill set. He is one of the best defenders in Europe. He has everything you need. His pace is phenomenal, his power, he reads the situation really well."

Fellow former centre-back and pundit Rio Ferdinand completely agreed, adding:"I honestly don't think Marcel Desailly has watched enough of him. He might have seen a game or a half, but his consistency has been fantastic. He is the main player in that defence. He is marshalling that defence at 21 years old, a fantastic player, and I think he is going to grow into a leader at this club." Bear in mind, these comments came before the Sevilla game, Ferdinand then added: "I think he is the best French centre-half about now. I think for the last year, he's the standout French centre-back."