The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde could apply to the case of William Saliba. If the case of the central defender is less serious than that of Robert Louis Stevenson's character, the duality between his situation with the France team and with Arsenal is perplexing. Having become essential with the Gunners, he is only an element on the fringes with the Tricolores. The treatment by his two coaches is also different. Arriving on tiptoe at Arsenal in the summer of 2020 (he was bought in 2019 then loaned to Saint-Étienne), William Saliba had nevertheless started on bad foundations with Mikel Arteta. Left aside then loaned to Nice in the winter of 2021, he followed up with a new loan to Marseille during the 2021/2022 season which allowed him to return to Arsenal with more experience.
A development which has done him good since he is more than ever the boss of the central defense of the Londoners. Shifting Ben White to the right and forming an XXL duo with Gabriel Magalhães, he allowed the Gunners to win the Premier League title last year, and his absence was detrimental in the final sprint. This season again, he breaks the screen. With 39 appearances in all competitions (2 goals and 1 effort), he continues to display great solidity and it is no coincidence that his team has the best defense in the kingdom (24 goals conceded compared to 27 for Liverpool and 28 for Manchester City). Key with the Gunners, notably during the two shocks against Liverpool (1-1 and 3-1 victory), he was again in sight last Sunday against Manchester City (0-0).
Uncompromising in the Premier League
From then on, compliments came from everywhere for the Frenchman. “He is fast, calm, reads the game well. He is good in the air and he is strong. It's a Rolls-Royce. I think we have a player who can be very, very special. There is a good duo with Gabriel, but, for me, it was the Rolls-Royce that we missed at the most important moment of last year. He can do our best if he continues as he is. Arsenal have generally always had excellent defenses – look at the likes of Tony Adams and Sol Campbell, great players, and Saliba will be one for his era., exclaimed David O'Leary, former Arsenal player, last October. This Tuesday, his coach Mikel Arteta was also rave.
At a press conference before facing Luton Town this Wednesday evening, the Spanish coach returned with humor to the moment when he found his Saliba-Gabriel defensive duo: “when I decided with Edu and the club to send Willy to Marseille. At this moment… (smile)”. The former Paris Saint-Germain and Everton player then praised the duo: “you feel it when you see the partnership. Sometimes there is chemistry between two players who complement each other. They are so happy to work together and for each other. This is obvious. They really enjoy playing together and they’ve been really good.” Valuable for the London club, William Saliba will have a busy end of the season between the race for the Premier League title and the Champions League, including a quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
He has not yet convinced with the Blues
This glowing portrait painted of him in England is very different from the one we find when we talk about William Saliba in the France team. International since March 25, 2022 and a first cap against Ivory Coast, William Saliba has not left the France group since that moment apart from injuries. However, everything was not positive for him, quite the contrary. In 13 caps, he had six victories, three draws and four defeats. The latter were also marked by errors from William Saliba (2-1 and 2-0 against Denmark and 2-1 against Germany last September). At the start of the rally, Didier Deschamps' speech was intended to be reassuring.
“He's having a good season, some very good matches, others a little less well. He is one of the best teams in the Premier League with Arsenal. William brings a lot of guarantees. He didn't have a lot of playing time with us. But because he does with his club and what he is capable of doing, he is called with us. There is competition, but he is one of the four”, explained the Blues coach. However, before starting him against Chile (3-2) where his performance was rather good, the French technician was much more vehement about his player.
“He’s having a good season. He also does things that I don't like as much. In the French team, he had reduced playing time, but when he played it didn't necessarily go well. The hierarchy is not favorable to him at the moment. But he is there. Dayot (Upamecano) had some playing time which perhaps William had less. On certain players, I make sure to insist, because it could be confidence or small blockages that can change. Some people don't have this problem, others take a little while. William had reduced playing time, so that doesn't mean having great peace of mind.” insisted the French technician. Far from being essential in the Blues two months before Euro 2024, William Saliba must reverse the situation in the selection. A very different position from the one he occupies at the club where he is increasingly asserting himself as one (or the) reference to his position in the Premier League.
