EMMA’S FEAR FACTOR
He’s hailed as a Prem giant... but French boss Deschamps says of the Gunners defender: He does things I don’t like... when he plays for his country it hasn’t gone well
ANYONE who has seen William Saliba perform in an Arsenal shirt this season will be staggered by Didier Deschamps’ latest remarks.
The France boss has claimed Saliba’s displays for his country “haven’t necessarily gone well” and he “does things he doesn’t like”.
And it is not the first time that Deschamps has been critical of the centre-back.
Last November, he said something similar and suggested that Saliba (right) has suffered because the team has rotated a lot and when he has had a chance, he feels under a pressure to perform that he does not get at club level.
It feels strange that Benjamin Pavard and Dayot Upamecano have started ahead of him and played against Germany on Saturday, while Saliba warmed the bench.
Deschamps made it clear there are reservations about the Gunners centrehalf ahead of the Euros.
He said: “The hierarchy doesn’t favour him at the moment, but he is here. Dayot Upamecano has had game time and perhaps William has had less.
“With certain players, I make sure to persevere, because it can be confidence or little blockages that can shift. Some don’t have any concerns, some need game time. William has had less game time, so that doesn’t allow him to be very calm.
“He is having a good season, but 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.”
Saliba does benefit at Arsenal from knowing he will start every game and that he has a solid partnership with Gabriel in central defence.
The pair have been the foundation upon which the Gunners’ title challenge has been built and when one has a slight dip in form, the other steps up. It is hard to think of too many dips this season and regular Arsenal watchers will say that Saliba has the talent, strength and understanding of the game to be one of the best defenders in Europe for the next decade.
Who is above him in Premier League terms? Virgil van Dijk, possibly. That is certainly, in physical terms, who he most resembles. Or John Stones and Ruben Dias.
Saliba is now at that level – the 23-year-old has developed into a Rolls-royce of a defender.
The wheels came off for Arsenal in last season’s title race when Saliba got injured. That is his level of importance.
But maybe there is a method to Deschamps’ madness. Maybe it’s man management to try to gee him up or take the pressure off his shoulders. Perhaps there might be a touch of arrogance in his play which Deschamps (with Saliba, above) wants to remove.
Either way, those sort of comments stand out a mile and suggest perhaps that he is not loved as much with France as he is at Arsenal.
And for anyone who has seen him for his club this season, that is the hardest thing to understand.
EMMA HAYES says Chelsea’s fear of not reaching the Champions League semi-finals will spur them on against Ajax tonight.
The Blues go into the Stamford Bridge tie with a three-goal lead after a superb display in Amsterdam last week.
But Hayes (above) said her side can not afford to ease up ahead of Sunday’s FA Women’s League Cup final against Arsenal. The Chelsea boss said: “I’m not thinking about Sunday. The fear of losing (to Ajax) or not being in the semifinal is for us as big a driver as the desire to win the game – in fact it’s more. “No one in our dressing room will take Ajax lightly... that would be a mistake.”