Arsenal starter slammed for ‘painful and awkward’ display on international duty

Joe Williams
Arsenal defender William Saliba
William Saliba claps the supporters after a match.

Arsenal centre-back William Saliba has been criticised for a ‘painful and awkward’ performance on international duty for France.

The Gunners have been in good form this season with Mikel Arteta’s side remaining unbeaten in seven Premier League matches.

Arsenal have won five and drawn two of their opening matches with the Gunners conceding just six goals to help them to third in the league, one point behind leaders Liverpool.

Saliba’s partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes was incredible last season and their strong form has carried on into this campaign but the Frenchman was not convincing on international duty this week.

Two goals from Randal Kolo Muani gave 10-man France a 2-1 win over Belgium in their UEFA Nations League clash in Brussels with Saliba facing criticism.

Captain Aurelien Tchouameni was sent off for a second yellow card with 15 minutes left but Didier Deschamps’ side negotiated the final stages to strengthen their position in second place in Group A2.

Youri Tielemans missed an early penalty for Belgium but after Kolo Muani had responded by grabbing his opener from the spot, Lois Openda ensured the hosts finished the first half on level terms.

Kolo Muani put France back in front with a strong header shortly after the break and the late drama involving Tchouameni could not spoil the visitors’ night.

Saliba clattered Belgium forward Lois Openda to give away the early penalty and gave the ball away in dangerous positions on a few occasions in the first half.

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AFP’s Emmanuel Barranguet called out the Arsenal centre-back’s performance against Belgium and insisted Saliba “played his worst match in Blue”.

Barranguet added: “He [Saliba] was better in the second half, but he was no longer the sovereign defender who had won his starting place at the Euros, at the expense of Ibrahima Konate.”

Eurosport France described it as a ‘painful evening for the Arsenal defender’ while French newspaper L’Equipe described Saliba’s display as ‘particularly awkward’.

Speaking of a chaotic first half defensively for France, Deschamps told reporters: “We were shaken up for 20-25 minutes where they put a lot of intensity while we made a lot of technical errors when we recovered the ball.

“When we were able to find solutions going forward, it was better for us. It’s good for us that they missed a penalty even if we shouldn’t concede this goal where we line up high.

“We were on tiptoe. We had fewer ball losses after but we wanted to drive the ball instead of making a simple pass. We did well in the first period.”

When asked what he said to Saliba and the rest of his France team at the interval, Deschamps added: “We had to shake them up without shaking everyone. In relation to what we said, and what the players had said.

“But it was mainly the mistakes, we had to calm down.

“We had to go forward and press hard. Of course they had chances but so did we in the second half. We are perhaps happy to win this match, perhaps by force and with ten men. We did better even if it was not difficult in the second half.

“It’s a young team that doesn’t have much experience. There was seriousness and enthusiasm in this gathering. It’s better to win this kind of match. In the group we leave them with four points and that’s good.”