William Saliba gives the perfect response after criticism from Didier Deschamps

It is not every time that a player is able to shrug off brutal criticisms made by their manager in public and continue to ply their trade as if nothing damaging has been said.

William Saliba recently came under heavy undeserved criticism by Didier Deschamps, his own manager at the France national team.

Deschamps didn’t hold back when he said of Saliba just a day before their last match against Chile, “He is having a good season, but he also does things that I don’t like so much. For France, he has limited game time, but when he plays, that hasn’t necessarily gone well. The hierarchy doesn’t favour him at the moment, but he is here.

“Dayot Upamecano has had game time and perhaps William has had less. With certain players, I make sure to persevere, because it can be confidence or little blockages that can shift. Some don’t have any concerns, some need game time. William has had less game time, so that doesn’t allow him to be very calm.”

That bit of criticism took the footballing world by surprise as it was hard in modern day football to see a manager so acerbically criticise his own player, especially publicly, just a day before a match.

What could have even taken observers by surprise the more was the fact that Saliba has been so excellent in his performances for our club, Arsenal, that many wondered what Deschamps’ point was exactly or what he hoped to achieve with that needless tirade.

Personally, I was afraid for Saliba and hoped that he would not allow the comments get to him and affect his performances, especially for Arsenal, where, in contrast to Deschamps’ treatment, he has been shown massive love and faith. But just like Arsenal have always done this season, Saliba answered his critic-in-chief by putting in a superb performance against Chile the next day.

He took the answer a notch higher in his appearance for Arsenal few days later against the reigning champions of both England and Europe, Manchester City, where he put in a man-of-the-match performance.

The calmness and composure he showed, even while under intense pressure and in the face of immense attacking threats from the opponents during the match, have received rave reviews.

Saliba is only a microcosm of the larger Arsenal that have become so resilient as a team that they have remained in the fight for the Premier League title, despite being written off and talked down upon by many at different stages of the season. They have simply refused to go away from the mix. In fact, the more maligned they are, the stronger they keep coming.

From Mikel Arteta, to Raya (who was doubted at some point), to Saka (who was needlessly dragged into a debate of being world class or not), to Kai Havertz (who was taunted as being a wasted investment), to Odegaard (whose leadership abilities were questioned over an innocuous photography session), and all the other players, who keep proving doubters wrong by putting in stronger performances every time, Saliba’s scintillating displays against Chile (for the France national team), and against Manchester City (for Arsenal) on the back of a vitriolic assessment by Deschamps epitomises Arsenal’s resilience and the huge progress they have made so far in the face of Adversity.

For that, they deserve enormous respect!

Jude Ndukwe, an Arsenal fan, sent this piece from Abuja Nigeria