French media react to William Saliba's performance after he keeps a clean sheet in 2-0 win vs Belgium
09/10/2024 02:38 AM
As is often the case when France lose an international football match, Arsenal defender William Saliba was one of several French players scolded after the Italy defeat.
Saliba was criticised for his individual performance on that occasion, the Arsenal centre-back didn't enjoy the most harmonious of partnerships with Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate.
However, it was a different story on Monday evening when France beat Belgium 2-0 at home.
France manager Didier Deschamps rang the changes after losing 4-1 to Italy, and both Saliba and Konate were among the only players to start both games.
Fortunately from an Arsenal point of view, Saliba justified his manager's faith, and contributed well to a commendable clean sheet against the likes of Kevin De Bruyne.
Of course, it's worth noting that Belgium didn't have Leandro Trossard in their squad, who was overlooked for these games.
William Saliba told he he can be a ‘defensive leader’ for France
Interestingly, a lot of the French press declared Matteo Guendouzi as their player of the match in the 2-0 win, a nice blast from the past.
But focusing on Saliba's performance, it wasn’t just De Bruyne who the Arsenal defender was stifling at the back, and Sofoot thought England linked RB Leipzig striker Lois Openda was taught a stern lesson.
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Handing Saliba an 8/10, they wrote: "If Lois Openda was wondering about moving to the Premier League in the near future, William Saliba took care to give him a glimpse of what his weekends might look like: on the ground, [with] bloody ankles."
Mvz Sports wrote: "Saliba confirmed his potential as a future pillar of the French defence. Very solid physically, he managed the depth well and was not worried by Openda.
"He sometimes experienced moments of tension when restarting, but was able to remain focused and assured against the Belgian entrants. A reassuring performance."
Footmercato echoed thoughts about Saliba looking slightly uneasy with the ball from the restart, which is a surprise, but were complementary too.
They summarised: "Still a starter in the central hinge of the Blues, the Arsenal defender was efficient against a very poor Belgian attack.
"Despite a few scares when restarting, he was appreciably solid. He has a bright future ahead of him as one of the defensive leaders of this French team."
Martin Odegaard injured on Norway duty ahead of North London derby
Although Saliba will be returning to London Colney unscathed by the looks of things, his captain Martin Odegaard has had no such luck.
Odegaard hobbled off with an ankle injury on Monday evening when playing alongside Erling Haaland for Norway.
And if Mikel Arteta didn't already have enough of a headache replacing Declan Rice for the derby, it now seems likely that his captain will miss out too.
Riccardo Calafiori is also injured, delineating a tough international break for the Gunners.
And whilst none of these issues will hopefully be too significant, Arsenal now face a trip to Tottenham Hotspur before facing Atalanta and Manchester City next week too.
