Frank Leboeuf has admitted that he is baffled by what is happening with William Saliba right now, as he labelled the Arsenal star ‘absolutely tremendous’.
William Saliba continues to win admirers. Of course, he was a player who was incredibly popular with Arsenal fans long before he even made his debut for the club.
Mikel Arteta however, took his time introducing him into the fold. In fact, at one stage, there were even doubts as to whether Saliba would ever play for Arsenal. But Arteta’s plan for the centre-back proved to be an inspired one.
It is remarkable to think that Saliba only played his first game for Arsenal at the start of last season. The 23-year-old has now become one of the best defenders in the world.
To many, it is no coincidence that Arsenal’s title challenge last season started to fall apart after the youngster sustained an injury. Saliba is so important to this current Arsenal team.
Pundit baffled by what is happening with William Saliba after France defeat
However, Saliba is yet to achieve that success for his country. He, of course, played no part in France’s incredible World Cup final defeat to Argentina in 2022.
And he was an unused substitute on Saturday as Les Bleus were beaten 2-0 by Germany in a friendly. Instead, Didier Deschamps opted for a centre-back partnership of Benjamin Pavard and Dayot Upamecano.
Pavard has been excellent for Inter this season. But he is naturally a full-back. Meanwhile, Upamecano has not completed 90 minutes in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich since January.
It was a concerning result for France. And speaking on ESPN, Frank Leboeuf suggested that he could not understand why Saliba was not involved.
“Yeah, I agree. That’s a real question mark for me. I don’t understand why Saliba is not playing all the time. He’s showed to the world that he’s the best defender in the world right now, well the best French defender right now playing for a big club. I don’t know why he’s not playing there. He’s absolutely tremendous. He deserves a chance to show it at that level,” he said.
Arsenal star will surely come in for next game
Of course, there are going to be plenty of twists and turns before the Euro 2024 final. Deschamps will surely hope to have Ibrahima Konate back in the starting lineup.
But his use of Saliba has been surprising. And it does hint that he may not play a key role this summer.
The frustrating thing for Saliba is that he is doing all he can to prove himself. And a game against Germany was perhaps a good opportunity to play the strongest side possible.
Certainly, many French fans will be imploring Deschamps to pick Saliba and Konate against Chile on Tuesday.
The post 'I don't understand': Pundit baffled by what's now happening with 'tremendous' 23-year-old Arsenal star appeared first on TBR Football.