“He has everything a modern defender needs to have" - Former Gunners star praises Arsenal defender William Saliba

Former Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has praised William Saliba. Discussing the Gunners' tenure under Mikel Arteta, the former club captain also had words of praise for French centre-back Saliba.

Vermaelen told Arsenal's website (via Arsenal Buzz on X) about Saliba:

“He’s a great player. He has everything a modern defender needs to have - he’s quick, he’s a great defender, he’s good on the ball. He has a great partnership with Gabriel as well, which is very important. They’re doing an amazing job.”

Saliba has played 28 games for Arsenal across competitions this season. As per Footy Stats, he has helped keep 10 clean sheets, conceding 25 goals. Saliba has only been dribbled past 0.05 times per 90 minutes. He has also registered one goal and one assist this campaign.

Saliba, who joined the Gunners from St. Etienne in 2019, made his club debut three seasons later, after being loaned out for the first three campaigns. Since then, he has become a mainstay at the club, making 61 appearances since the start of the last season.

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William Saliba feels Arsenal should do better in taking chances

After Arsenal's 2-0 loss at home to Liverpool in their FA Cup Round 3 clash, Saliba said that his team has to do better in converting their chances in front of goal.

The Frenchman said (via Now Arsenal):

“I’m really disappointed because we started the game so well. We had too many chances to score, but we didn’t. Even in the second half, we were good. Unfortunately, we conceded one free-kick 10 minutes before the (end of the) game."

Saliba added:

“We have to kill the game off before, because when we have so many chances like this, we have to score. We have to defend free-kicks better. We cannot concede them like this, so we can be really disappointed today.”

Saliba knows that Arsenal can still target the Premier League and the Champions League this season, asking his team to do regroup and finish the season stronger.

“We have to stick together. We know we’re not in our best moment, but we won’t give up, and we’ll come back even stronger. We will work a lot during this break. W e will breathe a little bit. We will stick together and come back stronger, and better.”

Arsenal's next game is in the Premier League against Crystal Palace on January 20.