Micah Richards has highlighted what one Arsenal player at Euro 2024 can do to develop his game to become one of the best.
The Gunners and their 11 representatives at this summer’s competition in Germany have been mostly impressive, with Kai Havertz winning plaudits for his performances for the host nation as David Raya also caught the eye in Spain’s final group game.
Another player who has shone at the Euros is William Saliba, who against Jakub Kiwior was imperious in his defending even with France drawing the game with Poland 1-1, seeing Les Bleus finish second in the group.
Yet Richards has shared what Saliba can do to improve his game to become one of the best in Europe.
Saliba told to keep it simple and become aware of his surroundings
Speaking on BBC One’s coverage of the match, Richards highlighted that Saliba might be overthinking too much in simple situations, with the Arsenal defender found out twice against Austria in France’s opening group game.
With Saliba one of the best defenders in the world after his second full season in north London, the thought of the 23-year-old getting even better is a scary prospect for Arsenal, who might have a generational talent on their hands.
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Richards said when asked what Saliba can do to improve his game for club and country: “Things he can improve on. I think in this position here, he sees the defenders and the ball well, but he’s got to be heading that out.
“They got lucky on that occasion, and then this one here, because’s so good on the ball, he always wants to make the perfect pass, but sometimes you just have to lump into row-Z, luckily enough Kante is there to save the day. Saying all that, he’s becoming one of the best defenders in Europe.”
Saliba has much to learn in becoming one of the world’s best
At 23, it’s almost astounding to see just how good Saliba already is despite his age and relative lack of Premier League experience, yet it only highlights just how amazing the Arsenal man is already.
However, Saliba would be the first to admit that he has much to learn in the quest to becoming one of the world’s best, such as the advice Richards shared to the Arsenal defender at Euro 2024.
Indeed, Saliba is already amongst some elite company when comparing the best centre-backs in the world, and the defender can add more to his claim if France are successful at the Euros this summer.
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 lauded for England performance.