William Saliba, an Arsenal defender, played for France in their Nations League match against Italy on Friday night in Paris.
Since making his debut for the Gunners in 2022, the player has blossomed into a star for both club and nation, significantly transforming Arsenal’s defence.
Saliba has also established himself inside the France team, and his performance at Euro 2024 earned him a spot on the team of the competition.
On Friday, though, the Gunners ace didn’t have the best of nights as Italy humiliated Les Bleus on their own pitch.
Bradley Barcola gave France the lead in the first minute, but Federico Dimarco gave the Azzurri an equaliser at the halfway point.
Inspired by the return of Sandro Tonali, Italy took the lead through Davide Frattesi on minute fifty and secured the victory with Giacomo Raspadori on minute seventy-four.
Saliba wasn’t the worst player on the pitch, but quite a few of France’s typically dependable and strong players suffered, and the French media also took a stick at him.
William Saliba of Arsenal, according to French media, was “in difficulty” for France vs Italy.
With an overall rating of 4, Eurosport rated the Arsenal player as “cleaner and more confident in his interventions, sometimes holding the fort.”
But what did he do on the third goal, when he appeared to be able to clear the threat, aside from his occasionally pointless errors? A mistake that detracts from his performance.
Similarly, Maxifoot awarded Saliba a score of 4, noting that “the French central defender did not shine in this match, after his great Euro 2024.”
The Arsenal player was flawless in his interventions and swam in his duels against Retegui or Pellegrini in the first half, without being overly noticeable.
But like his team, he had problems after the interval, most notably when Raspadori’s goal was scored.
Footmercato then selected a three for Saliba, noting: “The Arsenal defender misinterpreted the individual marking, just like Ibrahima Konate did.”
He was far less composed than he was at the previous Euro, when he was a revelation for the Blues, even though it was less evident than on the Konate-Clauss side.
“A difficult match for the Blues pivot, who will have also struggled in the duels, such as the third Italian goal, which he completely missed.”
