Jamie Carragher thinks 22-year-old Arsenal youngster could become absolutely incredible

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Jamie Carragher thinks Arsenal youngster William Saliba has the potential to become one of the top defenders in the Premier League.

The Liverpool legend was speaking about Saliba on Sky Sports last night and while he dismissed claims that Arsenal have missed out on the title due to his absence, he raved about the Frenchman’s potential. 

Arsenal’s title hopes were all but ended on Sunday as they fell to a 3-0 defeat at home to Brighton.

The Gunners have struggled defensively ever since Saliba picked up an injury back in March. There have been suggestions that Mikel Arteta’s men would have got over the line had Saliba been available.

Yet, Carragher believes Arsenal were still conceding goals with Saliba in the side after the World Cup and claimed the 22-year-old was ‘making mistakes’.

Despite this, the Sky Sports pundit believes Saliba could become as good as the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Rio Ferdinand. 

Carragher on Saliba

Carragher showed some statistics on Monday Night Football which showed that Arsenal were still shipping goals with Saliba in the side.

But their points per game remained the best in the league, whereas it dropped off to the seventh best after Saliba’s injury. 

And despite Carragher labelling claims that Arsenal weren’t conceding with Saliba in the side as a ‘myth’, he believes the Frenchman could become an elite defender in the future.

“Yes that’s where they’ve lost it and with Saliba they still had the points, they were top of the league,” he said. “But this idea that they weren’t conceding goals or looking vulnerable with Saliba at centre-back is a myth. 

“It’s not pointing this lad out because he’s got the potential to be a Virgil van Dijk, a Vincent Kompany, a Rio Ferdinand – that sort of figure. I’m not quite sure Gabriel has.

“This is just on games that Arsenal won where he was still making mistakes that were leading to goals.”

He added: “I’m not saying he wouldn’t have made a huge difference second half of the season, he would’ve because he’s better than Rob Holding and Kiwior, there’s no doubt.

“But he was still making mistakes that were leading to goals. So, I don’t think him being there for the full season would’ve meant that Arsenal would’ve gone on and won the title. 

“I’m sure they’d have been a lot closer but there’s still things he needs to improve on to come at the level of other central defenders who’ve gone on to win titles.”

Carragher showed clips of Saliba making mistakes during the 4-2 win over Brighton earlier in the campaign and during the 3-3 draw at Bournemouth.

While it’s undeniable that Arsenal were still conceding goals while Saliba remained in the side, you only have to look at their drop-off in form after his injury to realise he could have made a massive difference. 

He had been one of Arsenal’s best players over the course of the campaign and he could have helped them see out games like the West Ham and Liverpool draws.