Yann M’Vila has told Arsenal defender William Saliba on Instagram ‘you will have another one’ after France’s brutal defeat in the World Cup final to Argentina.
Arsenal’s thriving centre-back only played 27 minutes in Qatar, with the likes of Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konaté all picked ahead of the 21-year-old.
It could be argued that, heading into the World Cup, Saliba was THE in-form French centre-back and the one playing on a regular basis, especially given that Presnel Kimpembe was ruled out of the tournament.
But Didier Deschamps had other ideas, and in truth, his calls proved to be correct given that France’s injury-hit squad still got to the final and only lost out on penalties.
Either way, it would have been a learning experience for Saliba, who posted on his IG that he is ‘proud’ of his team and ‘we will come back stronger’.
In the comments section of his post, M’Vila told him ‘Strength my brother, you will have another one. God willing.’
SALIBA’S TIME WILL COME
It might have taken Saliba a few years to break into Arsenal’s first-team, but one thing he is doing is answering any critics, proving his worth and showing that he is developing as a centre-back.
Forget about the next World Cup, come the next Euros, he should be aiming for a starting spot for France.
The only issue he has is that the French are stacked in that department, a bit like England are with their right-backs, and everyone is of a healthy age.
Come the next Euros and the next World Cup, bearing injuries and form, the players mentioned above, should all still be repping their country, so from that perspective, it makes Saliba’s life pretty difficult.
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