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Mikael Silvestre has tried to explain the reason behind William Saliba’s shaky form post-Qatar 2022 World Cup.
THE LOWDOWN: WORLD CUP EXPERIENCE
Saliba was part of the France squad for the World Cup in Qatar. He played second fiddle to the likes of Ibrahima Konate, Raphael Varane and co and was only able to make just an appearance as France reached the final for the second consecutive tournament.
His lack of minutes at the Mundial saw Mikel Arteta throw him straight into his lineup for the visit of West Ham on the Premier League’s return.
The young defender was shaky all through the game and gave away a penalty in the first half. His poor form continued in the game against Brighton, gifting the opponent the ball back while trying to shield it away.
THE LATEST: PUNDIT’S CLAIM
Since returning from the World Cup, Saliba has been a different person from the one we saw prior to the tournament. He’s looked a bit shaky at the back and has made a few errors.
Silvestre, however, has backed his compatriot and said that he’ll learn from his mistakes and correct them in the future.
In an interview with bettingexpert, he said: “You learn from your mistakes and I’m sure he’s just doing that. It’s a long season and we can understand that for young players it can happen in CB positions. One or two mistakes and most of the time you get punished.”
“I’m sure he will rectify that.”
Saliba reached the World Cup final with France but saw limited game time and Silvestre, a former French international himself, pointed out to the lack of ‘real action’ being a cause for the defender’s rustiness.
“I think he’s just getting back to competing week in, week out, midweek, for him.”
“He’s been away from real action for a while. Let’s put it this way that he’s a bit rusty but it’s just a matter of time (for him to be back in full form).”
THE VERDICT: WILL COME GOOD AGAIN
Saliba has shown that he could be trusted in Arsenal’s backline. This is just a poor patch that he is expected to overcome in the coming weeks.
