William Saliba did one thing that will impress Mikel Arteta but caused two problems in France display

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William Saliba was back in action for France again in the international break with a tough clash against Iceland.

The Arsenal star has established himself as a regular starter for Les Bleus recently, becoming a vital option for the team.

World Cup qualification is within reach, but their momentum was slowed in the final match of the October break.

A surprise 2-2 draw with Iceland means that the door is still wide open for Ukraine to qualify in first instead, with a meeting lined up for next month.

For William Saliba, it was a mixed performance, with two errors proving costly alongside an otherwise dominant display.

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William Saliba’s error proves costly for France in mixed reception to Iceland draw

A new contract for William Saliba spelled good news for Arsenal, as they tied down one of the best defenders in the world for the future.

While performances have been consistent on the club stage, they haven’t always been that way when featuring for France.

It was another mixed performance for him in a draw with Iceland, as two mistakes seemingly led to goals for the hosts.

That led to some poor ratings from the French media.

L’Equipe gave Saliba a three out of ten, as they said: “He was the one who caused the foul that opened the scoring (39th) and then he was caught out for Iceland’s second goal (70th). It’s a shame because in the meantime, he had won almost all his duels, initiated a high recovery and demonstrated real concentration in his ball coverage.”

90Min came to a similar conclusion, awarding a 3.5 out of ten, and said: “William Saliba was at fault for Iceland’s opening goal, which came from a free kick on the left flank. It was the Arsenal player who committed the foul, which proved fatal in the process. Like his partner in the middle, the former Saint-Etienne player wasn’t the most reassuring, and has had better nights in the French jersey.”

There were some better ratings in Footmercato and Get French Football News, landing a 4.5 and a four respectively.

However, it was a frustrating evening for Saliba and his national team as they are made to work for qualification to next year’s World Cup.

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Mikel Arteta will have mixed feelings about William Saliba’s display for France

In a difficult evening for Saliba, there were plenty of positives and negatives to take as learning experiences for the future.

If Mikel Arteta was watching on, then one thing would’ve pleased him in that the Arsenal star was relatively dominant in his duels.

Saliba won 50% of his overall duels, largely showing aerial dominance, which is something often associated with his centre-back partner, Gabriel Magalhaes.

In all, he had 96 touches of the ball, with a 94% passing accuracy.

The frustrating part for the defender will come from the key errors he made at times.

Both goals came from mistakes he could’ve stopped, but in the end, he failed to do so.

There will be some hope that those errors won’t start to creep into any games that Arsenal play, especially with such an important run of fixtures ahead.