William Saliba would have been hoping that his trip to France would have ended on a high note but alas, Paris Saint-Germain knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League by beating them 2-1 on Wednesday.
Bukayo Saka’s late goal was not enough to save Arsenal’s blushes as Mikel Arteta’s side have unfortunately gone another season without winning a major trophy.
As for PSG, they have the chance to win the treble and on the basis of their glittering displays throughout the season, Luis Enrique would deserve to etch his name into the French giants’ history books.
William Saliba was one of the many Arsenal players who battled on against PSG throughout the contest but on the night, the hosts were decisive — as exemplified by Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi’s clinical goals.
While Saliba is arguably the world’s best defender, he had a difficult task on his hands to try and keep the Parisians’ electric front three quiet.
French media claim William Saliba looked ‘hesitant’ during PSG vs Arsenal
French media outlet Foot Mercato gave Arsenal centre-back Saliba a 5/10 match rating after his performance against PSG.
The publication noted that Saliba looked uncharacteristically “hesitant” when he had the ball at his feet for Arsenal, citing his sloppy pass to Jakub Kiwior as an example that almost gifted PSG winger Desire Doue a goal.
“William Saliba delivered a rather paradoxical performance. Overall, the Bondy player was rather dominant in his ground duels, but unfortunately deflected Fabian Ruiz’s shot on the Parisian goal, beating Raya who could do nothing. But with the ball, Saliba was rather hesitant, and not very comfortable technically, coming close to losing a ball that could have sent Doue through on goal . Far from being the worst, but not reassuring all the same.”
L’Equipe were even harsher on Saliba as they felt his latest outing for Arsenal against PSG was worthy of a 2/10 match rating.
However, it is telling how much the 24-year-old has split opinion amongst the French media as Maxifoot praised his performance and rated it a 6/10: The Frenchman was the boss of Arsenal’s defense. The central defender was strong in the duel and very good at reading the game. The Parisians were never able to move him tonight.”
Saliba stats for Arsenal vs PSG
With Saliba being a boyhood Arsenal fan, losing to PSG would have hurt him more than most of his teammates.
After PSG triumphed over Arsenal, the stats indicate that Saliba did not have his finest outing.
| WILLIAM SALIBA STATS VS PSG | |
| DRIBBLED PAST | 0 |
| DUELS WON | 5/11 |
| PASSES COMPLETED | 50/60 (83%) |
| TACKLES WON | 0/1 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | 0 |
The fact that the former Saint Etienne colossus was not even dribbled past even once shows that he was largely solid.
But even so, Saliba was clearly not at his dominant best as well, losing six out of his 11 duels, not winning the one tackle he made and failing to intercept the ball a single time.
However, as Antonio Rudiger stated, Saliba is “amazing” and perhaps he is also a victim of his sky-high standards.
