Arsenal defender William Saliba played the full 90 minutes during France’s 4-0 win over Ukraine in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday.
The 24-year-old got the nod alongside Bayern’s Dayot Upamecano in the heart of the defence, and had a relatively comfortable evening.
Saliba completed 93 percent of his passes from the left centre-back role. He was solid defensively with eight recoveries, six clearances and four aerials won.
Shortly after the 4-0 triumph, the French media published their player ratings. Saliba was appreciated for his fine performance at the back for Les Bleus.
Eurosport.fr gave Saliba a 6/10 rating. They said that he had a ‘solid performance‘ alongside a somewhat complacent Upamecano. He was described as ‘incisive’.
RMC Sport (6/10) likewise mentioned the same. The Arsenal centre-back was lauded for being ‘clean‘ with his distribution and not making any notable mistakes at the back.
Foot Mercato (6.5/10) highlighted that the Gunners defensive stalwart ‘enjoyed a very quiet evening‘. He was ‘strong’ in the air and made ‘some valuable defensive recoveries’.
Le Quotidien du Sport (6/10), meanwhile, emphasised that Saliba was ‘largely responsible‘ for keeping the Ukrainians ‘so discreet offensively’ after a ‘very focused’ display.
The Gunners star has had a fantastic first half to the season for club and country. He has contributed towards nine clean sheets for the Gunners during the ongoing campaign.
Saliba has also become a mainstay for the France national side and produced another top-class showing.
Les Bleus have already qualified for the World Cup with 13 points from five qualifying matches. They will complete their campaign against Azerbaijan on the road on Sunday.
France head coach Didier Deschamps may consider the fixture as another key part of the World Cup preparations. Hence, Saliba is likely to start in central defence again.
Saliba has ample time to recover and prepare for the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on November 23, given he will be released from the national set-up after Sunday.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com