William Saliba has been advised to be mindful of the fact that he may not be a regular starter for France at the World Cup by Bixente Lizarazu.
So far for Arsenal, the £27 million (Sky Sports) centre-back has started in all 14 games in the Premier League this season.
However, it has been reported by RMC Sport that Didier Deschamps could opt for the former RB Leipzig duo of Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano in the side’s upcoming opener against Australia.
With the likes of Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane and Benoit Badiashile also in Les Bleus’ roster, the competition for places is fierce.
Keeping such factors into mind, Saliba has been warned ahead of France’s clash against Australia by Lizarazu.
Lizarazu warns Saliba ahead of France vs Australia
The former French defender said, “He [William Saliba] has developed extremely well over the past few months and he deserves a place in central defence for the Gunners.”
He continued, “Now, he will not start the World Cup as a regular player, but you never know what will happen afterwards.”
“So far, he has used his chance with the Equipe Tricolore during his deployment times. He can be thrown into the deep end at any time, he will do his job with a lot of confidence and a lot of vigour”, Lizarazu said, as relayed by Football.London.
“On the other hand, he has a lot of competition from Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate and Bayern’s Dayot Upamecano.”
Saliba should not let a potential France exclusion affect him
At just 21 years of age, it is anything but a crisis if William Saliba is excluded from the starting line-ups of one of the most well-stocked teams at the tournament.
If Deschamps decides to bench the Arsenal colossus, he should bide his time and pounce at the opportunity of starting when called upon.
However, it would not be a surprise to see Saliba start, in contrast to Lizarazu’s claim, considering he has been France’s most in-form defender heading into the World Cup.
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