Rio Ferdinand hails Arsenal star's personality and character after 2-0 Palace win

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has hailed Arsenal defender William Saliba following his immense debut against Crystal Palace.

The French international came up with a stellar display at Selhurst Park as Mikel Arteta's side started their season with a 2-0 win against the Eagles.

Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring for the north London side with an own goal from Marc Guehi, doubling the lead for the Gunners late in the game.

Saliba, who was signed by the Gunners three years ago from AS Saint-Etienne, finally made his debut for the club, and it was enough to crown him as the Man of the Match.

Gary Neville was so impressed with Saliba's debut that he compared the French defender to his former Manchester United teammate, Rio Ferdinand.

Ferdinand has now made it quite clear that he was also impressed with Saliba following his rock-solid debut against Crystal Palace.

The former England defender has also credited Saliba for learning from his loan experience at Marseille last season.

Speaking on his YouTube channel 'Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE', he said:

"I don’t know if he needed it [Marseille loan], but I think what happened when he went away, it humbled him. He came to Arsenal and you expect to play."

He continued:

"He was talked about being that good but they went no, get some experience. He was Young Player of the Season in Ligue 1, last season, was phenomenal in that sense, comes back and said 'nah, I’m not going to right-back, Ben White get to right-back, I’m playing centre-half'."

Ferdinand has however revealed that he would reserve his judgment on Saliba right now as he looks forward to the Frenchman building on his solid start.

He added:

"He’s a centre-half (White). Saliba comes back and it takes a personality, a character to go 'right I’m here' and plays. Listen, he had a good game. It's the first game of the season, Palace is a hard place to go but you have the right to reserve judgement."

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William Saliba could become the cornerstone of the Arsenal defence

William Saliba has had to wait three long years to finally make his Arsenal debut since signing for the club back in 2019.

The Frenchman has spent time away from the Emirates on loan in France with AS Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille in that order. It is quite evident that the decision to loan him out for three consecutive seasons has paid off, as Saliba made a debut to remember.

Saliba has strong competition for his place with Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes at Arteta's disposal. But the Frenchman looks like a generational talent and could become the key defender at Arsenal.