William Saliba has been one of the best defenders in England in this campaign, and his fine form is one reason Arsenal has topped the Premier League standings.
It was almost a given that he would be selected by France for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and he made the cut.
The defender would have been confident that he would play for his country at the competition, but that has not been the case.
France has chosen the pairing of Raphael Varane and Dayot Upamecano as their first choice, with Saliba expected to come in if either cannot play.
However, with Upamecano sick and unable to make the team for their semi-final match against Morocco, France fielded Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate in place of the Bayern Munich man.
Konate only played a handful of games before the World Cup and is not a regular at Liverpool. The Sun reports this did not go down well with Arsenal fans who used social media to complain about Saliba being overlooked.
Just Arsenal Opinion
Saliba has been one of the best defenders in Europe and we are blessed to have him in our squad, but we must understand that international football is different.
The national team managers face tougher choices and France is blessed with many centre-backs who are simply too good to be benched.
Saliba’s time will come if he stays focused and patient. Do you think he should have played ahead of Konate?
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Ibrahima Konate was injured in pre season but has started every game when fit so not sure what your point is?
There’s too much competition in France team,and Saliba’s a young and has a future with the National team.It’s an honour for him,in the team.
Of course he is not underrated by France, the manager picks who he thinks are the best players for his team and they’ve reached the World Cup final so where’s the problem. I’m sure in a few years time if Saliba continues his development he will be a fixture in their team.
Deschamps complained about Saliba’s young age and lack of commitment when given a chance during the friendlies. France took in a goal which the French coach judged Saliba would have prevented. So he lost confidence in him.
But Saliba is still young and those playing are mostly those who were there 4 years ago. But Saliba will have his chance in the future. He’s still young and just needs to continue doing what he has been doing at Arsenal. He is already part of the French team.
They know if they continue to snub him, he can decide to play for Cameroon
He can’t play for anyone but France as he has made his senior debut ….
He cant play for Cameroon, he is a French international, you cant change allegiance.
@Atangana
He was outmuscled twice for 2 goals by Cornelius from Norway in the Nations League, where France lost. Guess Deschamps thott ur got that was enough to gauge him by…Jus sayin
@ Atangana, Saliba has played in this World Cup so what you are saying is and also previously so it’s impossible for him to play for any other international team!
How can you say he is underrated by France? If they win the world cup again, who are you or we to ask that question.
Konate was magnificent against Morocco and is a cert to start against Argentina.Saliba has done well to make the French squad and has a lot of time on his side.To those Arsenal fans who are upset at his failure to make the first eleven, they really do not know what they are taking about.Saliba is a very promising apprentice who will become an artisan in the not too distant future.On his only cameo performance in the WC, he made two glaring errors which could well have been punished but fortunately we’re not.Off topic, last night I paid particular attention to the work rate of Mbappe .For most of the game he jogged around and failed to track back when Hakimi bombed forward for Morocco who ought to have scored on at least three occasions.The French Manager finally saw the light and moved Mbappe through the middle when he took off Gireau and Thuram stifled Hakimi to good effect thereafter.Argentina will have homed in on the defensive weakness which is evident when Mbappe plays on the left, and could well cash in on the laziness of the French prima donna.In essence, the biggest asset of the French side could turn out to be their biggest liability.
@Grandad
RealTalk. Mbappe off the ball, is a liability. On the ball, he is merely a speed demon…Just sayin
You wouldn’t put it past Mbappe to win the world cup for France though. He is scary going forwards!!!!!!
No he’s not good enough to play ahead of his team mates, France is blessed with an abundance of world class defenders.
Whoever questions the decisions certainly haven’t been watching the world cup, the lad made a couple of appearances and didn’t exactly cover his self in glory.
He will be better with experience, but he simply cannot be trusted especially with the final on the horizon
When a side has made it to the WC final – which they might win – it’s difficult to say they’re doing anything wrong.
If Saliba stays fit and doesn’t get tired by playing then Arsenal fans should be happy.