ESPN pundit says something ‘absolutely atrocious’ has happened to Arsenal’s William Saliba this week

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ESPN pundit Steve Nicol is absolutely furious with what has happened to Arsenal star William Saliba this week.

The Frenchman, who turned 23 just a few days ago, is a brilliant player, isn’t he?

Since the start of last season, there are very few defenders in Europe who have been on the same level as him, and Arsenal fans absolutely love him.

In the France national team, however, things aren’t quite the same.

ESPN pundit reacts to what has happened to Arsenal’s William Saliba

Arsenal signed William Saliba all the way back in the summer of 2019 for £27 million (Goal).

The Frenchman was one of the most talented teenage defenders in Europe at the time, but it was only on the opening day of last season that he got an opportunity at Arsenal.

Since then, Saliba has been absolutely amazing. He is one of the best defenders in the Premier League right now, which is why France boss Didier Deschamps’ comments about him this week have sparked some anger.

The World Cup-winning manager publicly claimed that he doesn’t like many things that Saliba does on the pitch, and that’s the reason why he’s not a regular starter for France.

Frank Leboeuf has already expressed his surprise at those comments, as has Ally McCoist. Now, a furious Steve Nicol has had a real go at Deschamps.

He said on ESPN FC: “It is absolutely atrocious that an international manager would criticise a player, who’s not his player, in the press. If you’ve got a problem with a player, you do it in private.

“An international manager coming out and criticising one of the best centre-backs arguably on the planet right now is atrocious.

“I hope Mikel Arteta was the first person to pick up the phone or go and see him or whatever it is to stick his finger in his face and say ‘don’t you talk about my players like that again because it’s absolutely 100 per cent a no-no. How dare you talk about a player who’s not even your player in those terms’.

“I think it’s an absolute joke!”

William Saliba’s stats for France vs Chile last night

Despite his unnecessary comments, Didier Deschamps started William Saliba alongside Ibrahima Konate for France against Chile last night.

The Arsenal star, who played the full 90 minutes, was absolutely outstanding.

He had 102 touches of the ball and completed 86 of his 91 attempted passes, maintaining a stunning 95 per cent passing accuracy. He also made three tackles, two clearances and an interception, and even made a goal-saving tackle right at the end (SofaScore).

We don’t know what Deschamps thought of Saliba’s display last night, but we feel the Arsenal man has silenced his international boss.