Arsenal defender William Saliba fell victim to an amusing mishap in the aftermath of France’s 1-1 draw with Poland at Euro 2024.
Tuesday was not a brilliant day for Arsenal star William Saliba.
Whilst the media felt that Saliba acquitted himself well against Poland, the final score was undeniably a disappointing result for the French side, as it meant that they would not top their Euro 2024 group, and now face a more difficult draw in the first knockout round.
Saliba has now seemingly established himself as a regular starter for his country. This may well have come as a surprise to many, as France manager Didier Deschamps has been critical of Saliba in the past, and his emergence into the starting XI has been a long time coming.
Certainly, anyone who has watched the centre-back closely at the Emirates Stadium over the course of the last two seasons, as he has flourished under the guidance of Mikel Arteta, would have been bemused as to why Saliba was not already a fixture in the national team prior to this tournament.
In any case, France captain Kylian Mbappe is delighted for Saliba’s success, as the pair share a childhood connection. However, both players will have been bitterly disappointed with how things panned out against Poland in Dortmund.
France leave Arsenal star William Saliba behind
Things then went from bad to worse for the 23-year-old after the final whistle. As reported by L’Equipe, Saliba was called in for a random drugs test in the aftermath of the game.
However, the doping test took a significant amount of time, and as such the French team bus left without him, leaving him behind at the stadium.
Saliba was later driven back to the French team’s camp in a van, accompanied by team staff.
The Arsenal man will have been disappointed to return late to the team’s base, as the players were receiving visits from their families and loved ones on that evening.
Arsenal stars struggling at Euro 2024
France were not the only nation to suffer a disappointing draw yesterday, as England were also held to a 0-0 stalemate by Slovenia. Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were both named in the Three Lions’ starting XI, but neither could provide a magic moment.
However, the statistics show that Rice was in fact able to produce a noteworthy performance.
