William Gallas has praised William Saliba’s performance for Arsenal against Tottenham in the north derby, though feels he ‘can’t learn’ from current centre-back partner .
The 21-year-old came through arguably the biggest test of his Premier League career to date against the likes of and Son Heung-min and was a calm and composed figure in Saturday’s 3-1 victory – even nutmegging Oliver Skipp at one point.
By comparison, more established centre-back Gabriel delivered a rather less impressive display and gave away a rash penalty in the first half which allowed Kane to level the scores.
Gallas, who spent four seasons at the Emirates between 2006 and 2010, is confident Saliba can become a superstar defender but feels his development could be hampered by Gabriel and would rather see a more experienced head alongside his young compatriot.
‘I thought Saliba was excellent. He was very strong in his performance, focussed, he won all of his individual battles and duels,’ Gallas told .
‘For his age, the maturity that he showed in his performance was very good. If he continues to do what he does, then he has a very bright future in the game.
‘He seems to be getting better with every game.
‘I think with the way things are going for him, if he continues with this development, then he can become one of the top defenders.
‘I wouldn’t be surprised to see him nominated for the Young Player of the Year award because he has been that good.
‘As I’ve said recently, I still think he needs to have one top class defender to partner him to take him to an even higher level.
‘Sometimes you need to learn from someone and at the moment, he doesn’t have that at Arsenal.
‘I think Gabriel is playing well. He plays with a lot of intensity and is improving, but Saliba can’t learn from him.
‘Saliba needs an experienced player next to him and he will become even better. I love what he is doing for Arsenal.’
, .
, and .
