Rio Ferdinand has warned against fans overhyping Arsenal defender William Saliba, claiming there have been at least four players his age that were better in the Premier League. It comes after an impressive start to life for the Frenchman since making his return to the club.
The 21-year-old has immediately made his way into the first-team at the Emirates after several loan spells away from the club. His most recent was with Ligue 1 side Marseille, who he helped guide to a second-place finish in the division as well as winning the league's Young Player of the Year award - previously won by the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni.
Despite signing in 2019, he made his Arsenal debut this season in the opening fixture against Crystal Palace, where plenty were mesmerised by the maturity of his performance at such a young age and in a new environment. It led to plenty of praise from his manager Mikel Arteta after victory against Bournemouth - where he scored a stunning volley to seal the game.
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“That [the goal] is individual talent and a moment of quality that he showed, but I am really pleased with his performance,” Arteta said. "What he is doing at 21 years old is rare. He remains really humble. He wants to learn, he wants to train every day and he is really demanding of himself and he is giving a lot to the team.”
The Spaniard will be hoping for plenty more performances from him in the future, though with two-years remaining on his contract, that may become the next transfer priority. In the aftermath of such praise, ex-Manchester United defender Ferdinand has warned against overhyping the France international too much, claiming there have been better defenders at his age.
Speaking on Vibe, he said: "Jonathan Woodgate, Sol Campbell, John Terry, [were better at his age] trust me. Woodgate 100% without any hesitation.
"Wes Brown at 21. He was winning Champions Leagues. He was in the treble winning team, he played games in that team."
Saliba struggled at times when facing Manchester United at the weekend, playing as part of a defence that conceded three times against the Red Devils. Ferdinand believes he was at fault for at least two of these, adding: "He failed the Rashford test. You don’t need to put this pressure on Saliba, he’s just five games in just let him play.
"You’re salivating over Saliba but he’s probably in the changing room thinking I’ve got my DNA on two, maybe three, of the goals in some way shape or form. Some people might say three, I’m saying two. His fingerprints are on two of the goals and he’s sitting there with 0 points from the game.
"He’s playing offside. The manager’s not told him to do that. They didn’t play offside at any other time in that game. He’s on the halfway line thinking he’s last man and steps up over the halfway line to play offside when Ben White’s playing him onside."
It remains to be seen if he can improve and reach the levels expected of him, however he will need time to reach those heights. For now, game time will be the best way to get more out of him in the future.
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