Ally McCoist surprised by what’s happened to £27m Arsenal player on international duty 

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Ally McCoist has admitted he’s ‘surprised’ after what’s happened to one key Arsenal star during the international break.

With the array of talent Mikel Arteta has at his disposal, you’d expect the majority of Arsenal’s starting XI to be nailed-on starters for their intentional teams.

That is certainly the case for the likes of Declan Rice, who will captain England against Belgium on Tuesday evening.

Alongside Rice, it could be argued that William Saliba is one of Arsenal’s most important players, as well as Bukayo Saka.

Despite his impressive displays in the Premier League, Saliba is having a tough time when it comes to nailing down a place in the France side.

The 23-year-old has managed just 12 appearances for Les Bleus since making his debut back in March 2022.

And Ally McCoist is surprised that Saliba doesn’t feature more regularly for France.

McCoist surprised after Saliba’s latest France snub

Speaking on talkSPORT, McCoist was asked if he was surprised to see Saliba miss out on the 2-0 defeat to Germany off the back of Didier Deschamps’ recent comments on the Arsenal star.

“Yeah, a little bit,” the pundit admitted. “They’ve got [Benjamin] Pavard, [Dayot] Upamecano, they have good players, that’s the first thing you’ve got to say.

“But it does surprise me a little. But maybe it’s just one of those things because you read the quote from Deschamps, it wasn’t overly complimentary, was he? Let’s be honest about it.”

What France boss Deschamps has said about Saliba

Saliba was an unused sub as France suffered a 2-0 defeat to Germany over the weekend.

It’s led to criticism of Deschamps for snubbing the in-from Saliba. Yet, the French boss has defended his decision to limit Saliba to a bit part role.

“He is having a good season, but he also does things that I don’t like so much,’ Deschamps said ahead of France’s friendly against Chile tonight.

”’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.” as quoted by The Daily Mail.

While France do boast some excellent options in central defence, it is baffling how Saliba is yet to win over Deschamps.

We’ve all witnessed what the £27 million defender is capable of at Arsenal but he’s yet to get a real opportunity to impress for France.