At a Glance:
- Marcel Desailly not too fond of William Saliba upon arrival
- Has now changed his mind following impressive displays
- Saliba is statistically one of the best defenders in the league
For a team sitting top of the Premier League with only a few games to go—even with Manchester City closing in—having conceded just 26 goals in 33 games, it feels harsh to question Arsenal’s defensive quality.
Arguably, the crown jewel in this Arsenal defence is William Saliba, who, at 25 years of age, has established himself as one of the premier centre-backs in English football.
Consistently showing his talent on a regular basis—including in the Champions League quarter-final first leg vs. Sporting—his partnership with Gabriel over the past four years has been pivotal in getting Arsenal to where they are today.
But one French legend has revealed that he has changed his mind regarding Saliba. Having not initially been impressed by the center half, recent events have made him change his mind.
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Marcel Desailly believes William Saliba is now ‘perhaps better’ than Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk
Giving a passionate interview to Get French Football News, iconic defender Marcel Desailly—who won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship with France—has made some amends to his prior beliefs about William Saliba.
“It’s true that I wasn’t convinced—when he started, I wasn’t pro-Saliba. But I’m really pleased, genuinely. He has shown his ability to perform consistently and has remained clear in his job… maybe he isn’t able to bring the ball forward as Sergio Ramos could do, but he has become a very good, very consistent defender,” Desailly opened up with.
“Today he is showing that he is one of the best defenders, perhaps better than Virgil van Dijk,” argues Desailly. “He is among the best right now… so yes, I apologise—well maybe not apologise, but I say bravo to him. He has silenced the criticisms of those who didn’t believe in him.”
The player Desailly compared Saliba to, Virgil van Dijk, is now 34 and has undergone a slight regression from the all-around player he has been in previous seasons. However, the Dutchman has looked like one of the better players in a struggling Liverpool side, as well as yet again becoming the hero on derby day for the Reds.
William Saliba ranks extremely high in vital statistics for Arsenal
If you take a look at William Saliba’s FotMob page, one of the things that will first catch your eye is the fact that the Arsenal number 2 ranks in the 98th percentile for defenders in the Premier League for expected goals (xG) while on the pitch, meaning that the team defends hypothetically very well with Saliba on the field.
This translates to reality, with the Frenchman ranking in the 95th percentile for goals conceded on the pitch and the 93rd percentile for clean sheets at the time of writing. While this can be put down to Arsenal having a strong defence overall—set to get stronger soon with the rumoured return of Jurrien Timber—it is a testament to Saliba’s ability.
Three successive appearances in the PFA Team of the Year in 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 mean that the professionals agree with him being one of the two best central defenders.
Given that the defenders who partnered Saliba last year have all suffered slightly more dips in consistency—van Dijk and Milos Kerkez with Liverpool and Gabriel with Arsenal—you could easily make the argument that William Saliba stands alone as the Premier League’s best centre-back.
