William Saliba labelled ‘a disaster’ as former Arsenal captain compares star unfavourably to title rival
WILLIAM SALIBA can be a “disaster”, claims former Arsenal captain William Gallas.
The Gunners defender, 23, has played in every minute of his side’s Premier League campaign thus far.
While he is a key man for Mikel Arteta, Saliba has not yet established himself as a nailed on starter for France.
Chatting to Get French Football News, Gallas, who played for Arsenal between 2006 and 2010, compared Saliba unfavourably with two other Les Bleus defenders – including a Prem rival.
Asked who he rates as his country’s best defenders, Gallas said: “France have so many talented young centre-backs.
“It’s always the same question, though, and that is which one is going to be consistent? Which ones are going to be the starters?
“Unfortunately, it’s difficult for William Saliba to be in the starting XI because you have Ibrahima Konate from Liverpool and Dayot Upamecano from Bayern.
“Sometimes Saliba can be magnificent, but sometimes he can be a disaster as he’s not consistent.”
Gallas did then concede that the Arsenal ace would be a key man for most countries.
He continued: “That’s why it’s a big problem for Didier Deschamps to know exactly who is going to be the number one, or the partnership at centre-back!
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“For every other country, Saliba would probably walk into the XI with ease, but with France, it’s different and that is very tough for him – especially as they have been so successful in recent years.
“We have some great young centre-backs in the French team, that’s for sure.”
With Saliba an ever-present, Arsenal have conceded just 26 goals in 32 Premier League games so far this season – the lowest tally of any team.
Konate, meanwhile, has struggled with fitness issues and has been limited to just 16 Prem starts for Liverpool this term, with a further five from the bench.
Both have emerged in recent years for Deschamps, with Konate having earned 14 caps and Saliba 13.
The Arsenal star was limited to just 27 minutes at the World Cup in Qatar, while Konate, 24, started three games and came on in the final.