William Saliba is reportedly set to start for France in their final group stage match of Euro 2024, though manager Didier Deschamps is set to make a decision that could surprise Arsenal supporters.
The 23-year-old defender has been named in the starting XI for Les Bleus’ two games this summer out in Germany, with Saliba keeping back-to-back clean sheets, as Arsenal fans and the French media were impressed with what they’ve seen from the centre-back.
Having played every minute of Premier League football this season for the Gunners, hopes that Saliba will be rested this summer at the Euros have quickly evaporated, with the defender now set to remain in France’s starting XI until their furthest possible point.
And Deschamps could today make an unusual decision surrounding Saliba.
Saliba to play in unfamiliar left-sided centre-back role for France
According to L’Equipe via Actu Foot, Saliba and Dayot Upamencano will be swapped around in central defence, with the Arsenal man playing out on the left instead of his favoured right-sided centre-back role.
Whilst Saliba has played in this role on a handful of occasions for Arsenal, Gabriel Magalhaes is the established left-sided defender for the Gunners, with the Brazilian arguably the best in the world at this unique role.
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And Deschamps’ decision to swap Saliba and Upamecano around will raise eyebrows from Arsenal supporters, as well as get them thinking about if the French international could be used in the position for next season.
Indeed, injury to Gabriel could allow Saliba to shift into the left-sided centre-back role, and with Deschamps now set to swap the 23-year-old around today, it could give Mikel Arteta some ideas for what to do in the new campaign.
New role could help Saliba develop even further at Arsenal
Saliba’s development in the last two seasons at Arsenal has been nothing short of incredible, with the former Saint-Etienne wonderkid developing into arguably one of the best defenders in the world at just 23-years-old.
And playing a new role for France could help Saliba’s development go even further when back at Arsenal, with Arteta a huge fan of players who can play numerous roles in multiple positions.
Given how hyper-specialised a left-sided centre-back is in the modern game, Saliba adding this role to his toolkit will only make the defender that more valuable, with Arsenal again counting their lucky stars.
Arsenal winners and losers at Euro 2024
In this week’s episode, Will Jones and Rahul Lakhani discussed the first few days of the European Championships. With Arsenal players such as Kai Havertz and Kieran Tierney experiencing mixed starts to the tournament, the pair assessed which Gunners were the winners and losers from the group stages so far.
There was some talk about transfers based off the Euros, with Arsenal-linked Amadou Onana’s display for Belgium discussed, whilst Leandro Trossard’s poor performance was analysed, and Bukayo Saka’s sensational England showing lauded.