Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has now spoken out in defence of one Arsenal star who came under fire from an international manager recently.
Steve Nicol has mounted a passionate defence of Arsenal defender William Saliba.
The French centre-back was recently publicly criticised by his national team boss Didier Deschamps. Deschamps did not hold back in his assessment of Saliba, as he claimed, “he also does things that I don’t like so much. For France, he has limited game time, but when he plays, that hasn’t necessarily gone well…William has had less game time, so that doesn’t allow him to be very calm.”
Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal fans will struggle to tally their own impression of the 23-year-old with the view held by Deschamps. When representing the north London club, Saliba is a beacon of calm. In fact, his remarkable composure under pressure is one of the qualities that has stood out the most. Saliba has even been called the “best” centre-back in the Premier League.
Alongside Gabriel Magalhaes, Saliba has forged a solid and reliable centre-back partnership at the Emirates Stadium. The duo work together to great effect, and have mutually beneficial qualities and attributes. Gabriel and Saliba recently lifted the lid on the secrets behind their success. Arteta also clearly has complete faith in the pairing.
Pundit comes to defence of William Saliba
However, that belief in Saliba’s abilities is seemingly not shared by Deschamps. Whilst the defender has 13 international caps to his name, he has never been a regular starter for his country.
Nicol has now made his feelings on the matter abundantly clear. Speaking on ESPN FC, the former full-back took aim at Deschamps, saying, “it’s absolutely atrocious that an international manager would criticise a player, who is not his player, in the press. If you’ve got a problem with the player, you do it in private.”
“An international manager coming in and criticising one of the best centre-backs, arguably, on the planet is atrocious and I hope that Mikel Arteta was the first person to pick up the phone or to go and see him, or whatever it is, to stick his finger in his face and say ‘don’t you talk about my players like that again.’ It’s absolutely 100% a no-no. How dare you talk about a player who is not even your player in those terms, I think it’s an absolute joke.”
Mikel Arteta will find a way to protect Arsenal star Saliba
Of course, it is impossible to know what level of contact Arteta may or may not have had with either Saliba or Deschamps in the aftermath of these comments. He will likely have taken some sort of action to protect his player. The Spanish coach will certainly be hoping that the Arsenal defender’s confidence has not been rocked, though, as the Gunners will need him to be at his absolute, and most assured, best when they take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Based on his inherent quality and consistent form at club level, it has to be imagined that Saliba will eventually solidify his place on the international stage. In any case, it is easy to forget how young he still is, particularly for a centre-back. Saliba’s best years are still ahead of him, for club and country.
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