Although he excels as a pillar of Arsenal, Saliba does not consider himself the best in his position without a trophy

Arsenal’s world-class full-back William Saliba spoke self-critically and modestly about his own worth.

He should shake off Saliba, which is not an easy task

This was noted by András Szarka on Thursday night while commenting on the Atalanta-Arsenal Champions League match on the RTL + streaming channel during a duel between Mateo Retegui and William Saliba.

In the match that ended 0-0, David Raya and Saliba proved to be the best of the Londoners, finishing with a double save at the Italian striker’s penalty. Based on the statistics of Whoscored and Sofascore, the French defender had two tackles, five clearances and possession, and won 75% of his duels against the players of the defending Europa League champions Bergamo. “As a shield, the player of the French national team easily avoided everything that came his way. He stopped Lookman with a great tackle on one occasion,” it reads in the goal.com review.We just read it on the day of the meeting on the same websiteas the full-back explained what he thinks he lacks to be the best defender in the world. Which is much closer than he thinks.

Saliba on Arsenal-Brighton champions © Benjamin Cremel/AFP

Photo: AFP

In Esélylesők’s May program entitled Dream Team of the Season 2023/24, all three participants of the program, András Szarka, Peet Szabó and Dávid Bíró, nominated him for the position of the right inner defender.

No outfield player in Arsenal has ever spent all the minutes of the league season on the pitch – until the 2023/2024 season and Saliba.

“The impressive thing is that we knew a certain image of Saliba: calm, strong. But what he did in the second half of the season, and how he improved with the way he carried the ball and appeared even in the attacking third, is really unbreakable from this team,” he noted. Andris Sarka.

“In this extremely high-risk game, a defender has to constantly make good decisions, and Saliba has timeless results in this. He was the only player in my team where I didn’t think for a minute whether he needed an alternative, as a right-sided inner defender, I think Saliba is the best was top four in the league,” Peet added.

When the European Championship was discussed between the parties, Saliba was also given a leading role, with Andris Szarka and Peet Szabó, the Frenchman was included in the best eleven of the summer European Championship.

“With Upamecano, the dog-cat duo teamed up. What stands out about Saliba is that he hardly had tackles as a defender, the ball was brought to him three times, two of which were successful tackles, in addition he had five tackle attempts, two of which were successful. This was not Saliba’s added value , but in the positioning and sweeping behind Upamecano for the balls that went in behind the defense.

He brought down a European Championship without making a mistake leading directly to a shot. Saliba should be singled out because what he did was not spectacular, but he was very good at choosing well-functioning, simple solutions,” said Peet.

Arsenal’s brilliant full-back has made a name for himself in the past two PL seasons, shining in his position under head coach Mikel Arteta. The Londoners have twice come close to Manchester City in the title race but narrowly missed out on both occasions.

Thanks to Saliba’s efforts, Arsenal conceded just 29 goals last season, the best result in the top leagues. However, the Frenchman says he cannot be considered Europe’s best centre-back until he wins a major trophy.

We recommend Harry Kane to the attention of William Saliba, who is one of the best center forwards in the world, even though he has never won anything with any club in his life.

William Saliba watches Spain’s Dani Olmo in the Euro semi-final © Thomas Kienzle/AFP

Photo: AFP

“The last two seasons, especially last season, I’ve been on the right track. Maybe I’m on my way to becoming the best defender in the world. I think I’m one of the best right now, but I need to win a few more titles before I can say that.

I think that’s what’s missing now. If you win trophies, you are good, if you don’t, you can’t call yourself the best. I believe in this. I’m one of the best in the world,” Saliba told Fox Sports.

The Frenchman could take another step down that path on Sunday when Arsenal visit Manchester City. If there is a defense that can stop Erling Haaland, who produces goals on a conveyor belt, it is the Saliba-Gabriel duo. In last year’s three Arsenal-City matches, Haaland did not score.