Saliba slammed after ANOTHER disastrous France performance

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 15 Oct 2024 09:55 BST
• 3 min read

William Saliba has been slammed by the French media after another dismal performance for his country.

Saliba has been integral to Arsenal’s progress under Mikel Arteta in recent years and is considered by many as the best defender in the Premier League.

He has formed certainly the strongest centre back partnership in England alongside Gabriel, and has continued his form into this season, with the Gunners conceding just six times in their opening seven Premier League games.

However, despite his consistent world class performances for Arsenal, Saliba has not yet managed to match that level for the France national team.

It took him a long time to gain the trust of France manager Didier Deschamps, and he is close to losing that trust after a series of dismal showings.

The latest was on Monday during France’s fortuitous 2-1 win at Belgium in the UEFA Nations League.

Saliba was given a torrid time all evening by Belgium attacker Lois Openda.

The defender conceded a comical penalty which was missed by Youri Tielemans, while he was also to blame for Openda’s goal.

Saliba slammed for France performance

The French media were unanimous in their criticism of Saliba’s performance against Belgium.

Footmercato gave him a rating of 4/10 while Maxifoot rated him at 3/10 and branded his performance his “worst ever for his country”.

This display follows on from another shocker in the 3-1 home defeat by Italy last month.

In that game, Saliba struggled badly against Italy striker Mateo Retegui and was at fault badly for Giacomo Raspadori’s goal.

These performances for France are a far cry from those we have seen in an Arsenal shirt.

So impressive has Saliba been that Real Madrid are reportedly preparing a big-money bid for him in 2025.

The 23-year-old Saliba joined Arsenal from Saint-Etienne in 2019 for £27 million.

After a series of loans, he established himself as a key player from the 2022-23 season as Arsenal twice finished runners-up in the Premier League.