Former Arsenal Thierry Henry has every right to comment on current world footballers. For once, he is the Gunners legend, then he is a TV pundit, but he is also the French Olympics team coach and he is a Frenchman. So, when Henry makes comments about a player, and especially if that player is a Frenchman who is in Arsenal squad, everybody pays attention. Ahead of the upcoming EURO 2024, in which France is among the favorites, Henry talked for the Premier League’s official YouTube channel, and one player has his attention – William Saliba. Interestingly enough, his former teammate also likes the Arsenal defender. Saliba’s season in Arsenal is spotless and yet Deschamps criticizes himThe French international was a part of a steady Arsenal backline (along with Gabriel Magalhaes) which allowed only 29 goals and was the best in the Premier League, and former Gunners captain was impressed. “When you’re in a one-vs-one with him, you’re like, Okay, you’re not going anywhere, big man! I think this year he was, for me, the best centre-back in the league“ he claimed. But, when he is with the French national team, coach Didier Deschamps is not playing him regularly. In fact, he will probably start the tournament with Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate as the defensive pair. Deschamps’s EURO surprise: N’Golo Kante!Former World Cup winner with France Frank Leboeuf criticized Deschamps for not using Saliba and named defense as the weakest part of the EURO team. He also considers the Arsenal defender as the strongest in the team. “Yeah, I agree. That’s a real question for me. I don’t understand why Saliba isn’t playing all the time. He showed to the world that he is the best defender in the world right now, well, the best French defender right now playing for a big club. I don’t know why he’s not playing there. He’s absolutely tremendous. He should deserve the chance to show it at that level. I would say defence is the weakest. It used to be strong. But it’s like Didier Deschamps is wondering who is the best duo at centre-back. He tried something else for France’s recent defeat to Germany. In the middle of the park I would say we have a list of fantastic players, how they are going to match together is going to be a question mark but the talent is there. When you see the names of the players in the middle of the park for France, it’s crazy. Didier has to find the right four players to play as defenders. When he does so, we will be very strong“ said Leboeuf.##NAJAVA_MECA_8154672##
