‘He’s up there’: Arsenal talent put in same bracket as Thiago Silva, Arteta has never picked him

Follow us on Google Discover

Arsenal fans have high hopes for defender William Saliba – and former Gunners attacker Stephy Mavididi has backed him for a huge future.

Arsenal swooped to sign Saliba from Saint-Etienne in 2019, with the defender turning down a move to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

So far though, Saliba hasn’t actually played a Premier League game for Arsenal as he approaches three years since joining.

Saliba spent his first season back on loan at Saint-Etienne, then sat on the sidelines for the first half of last season.

Another loan back to France with Nice arrived in January 2021, and Saliba is again in Ligue 1 this season with Marseille.

Saliba is faring well with Marseille, and the hope is that Arsenal give him a chance to step up next season. After all, Arsenal forked out a cool £27million for Saliba.

The Gunners need some kind of return on that investment, so Mikel Arteta needs to use the defender next season and beyond.

Arsenal will be tracking his progress in France, but it seems one of their former players is giving him the big sell anyway.

Ex-Arsenal attacker Stephy Mavididi is now playing in France too, excelling with Montpellier this season.

Mavididi has spoken to LiveScore about Saliba, stating that he is ‘hands down’ one of the best defenders in Ligue 1.

Mavididi even predicts that Saliba will walk into the Arsenal side next season, praising him for his strength, ability on the ball and reading of the game.

Saliba is just as good as the likes of Marquinhos and Thiago Silva according to Mavididi, with the boyhood Arsenal fan blown away by Saliba’s displays.

“That guy’s a player. He’s hands down one of the best defenders in the league, hands down. I think he’ll walk back Into the Arsenal team next season,” said Mavididi. “When I played against him last year I thought “how is this guy not playing at Arsenal?” He’s strong, good on the ball, he reads the game well.

“Sometimes you walk off the pitch and think “fair play man, respect”. When the defender has kept up with you and out-tussled you, you have to say fair play. This guy’s a good player.”

“He’s one of the best centre-backs I’ve faced. Everyone can talk about Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Jerome Boateng, but he’s up there. He’s the one that surprised me the most. I’m an Arsenal fan too and playing against Saliba I thought “we’ve got a very decent defender here!” he added.