William Saliba went into the World Cup with France having produced a level of performance with Arsenal that rightly ranked him as one of the best centre-halves in Europe. However, this still wasn’t enough for Didier Deschamps to opt for the Arsenal man over Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate.
Arsenal watched on as their prized centre-half asset remained on the bench and protected from potential injury. Perhaps seen as a sizeable positive from the comparable nightmare experience by Gabriel Jesus, who even as a substitute player for Tite’s Brazil ended up with a serious knee injury and out for the long term.
Yet with Saliba and Arsenal remains the elephant in the room regarding his contract. Despite persistent messaging from the club and the player suggesting he is 'happy' in north London, there remains the need to reach an agreement over a renewal.
