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Former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon believes that defender William Saliba should be judged after the season is over. He has praised the youngster but wants to wait to see him perform under pressure to make a call on his abilities.
Saliba, 21, made his debut for the Gunners in their opening Premier League match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. He won the 'Man of the Match' award in a 2-0 win on Friday, August 5.
He made six clearances, won three ground duels and maintained a 94% passing accuracy.
Saliba joined the Emirates outfit from Saint-Etienne in 2019 but spent three years on loan at different clubs.
He has now returned and performed well in his first match, which earned him praise from Arsenal legend Dixon as well.
On the Seaman Says podcast, he said (via football.london):
“He performed brilliantly well, Saliba, 21 years of age, he’s been away and everyone’s now saying ‘where’s he been?’ He’s been learning his trade and doing the right thing."
He added:
"Chelsea loan out 50 players a year and nobody says anything. We send one out and it’s as if we don’t know what we’re doing and we should have had him back earlier."
However, Dixon is also waiting to see how Saliba performs under pressure. He believes a mistake in a pressure situation could even break the Frenchman as he stated:
“Come back to me in 37 games and we’ll give you an assessment of how Saliba has done. As well as he’s done and as confident as he looked on the ball, that could go. I don’t know him as a player, but under pressure at Anfield, say if he gets nutmegged and gives a couple of goals away, he might go to pieces."
He added:
"You might have to leave him out of the team because he’s now a broken footballer and you need to protect him. There’s a million questions to be answered, but you can only give an opinion on what you’ve seen.”
Arsenal will next face Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, August 13.
"Exactly what Arsenal needed" - Alan Shearer on William Saliba's performance against Crystal Palace
After the opening fixtures of the 2022-23 Premier League were completed, Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer picked his best XI from Gameweek 1. He put William Saliba in his team for a three-at-the-back system alongside Fabian Schar and Ryan Sessegnon.
While adding the Frenchman to his side, he told the Premier League website:
"A great debut performance and a dominating presence. Exactly what Arsenal needed at the back."
Mikel Arteta's side conceded 48 goals last season in the league, the highest amongst the top five, which also saw them finish fifth. Arsenal will hope Saliba can help them tighten up their defense and reach the top four this season.
