France boss Didier Deschamps hits out at Arsenal’s William Saliba

During the international break, France boss Didier Deschamps has criticised William Saliba and explained why the Arsenal defender is not a regular for his country.

Saliba has been a standout performer for Arsenal this season and will need to be at his best this weekend when Arsenal travel to Manchester City in the Premier League. Back Arsenal to beat Man City at 3/1 with bet365.

Didier Deschamps hits out at William Saliba

While Saliba has become a crucial cog in Arsenal’s title-chasing side, he has struggled for game time with France.

Saliba has only made 12 appearances for France and very rarely starts important games. This comes with Dayot Upamecano continuing to be a regular feature despite the error-prone nature of his game.

Deschamps has spoken about Saliba’s struggles for minutes with Les Bleus and revealed why he is down the pecking order at the moment with the national team:

“He is having a good season, but he also does things that I don’t like so much,” he said. “For France, he has limited game time, but when he plays, that hasn’t necessarily gone well.

“The hierarchy doesn’t favour him at the moment, but he is here. Dayot Upamecano has had game time and perhaps William has had less. With certain players, I make sure to persevere, because it can be confidence or little blockages that can shift.

“Some don’t have any concerns, some need game time. William has had less game time, so that doesn’t allow him to be very calm.”

While Arsenal fans no doubt disagree with Deschamps’ assessment, they are no doubt pleased Saliba is not being forced to play too many minutes at this stage of the season.