Arsenal legend Martin Keown and Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand have hit back at French football great of Ghanaian descent, Marcel Desailly over his assessment of Arsenal centre-back William Saliba.

Marcel Desailly had been critical of Williams Saliba, shooting down his credentials that he has a limited skill set to be a world-class defender.

When speaking about Les Blues' central defenders, he told GFFN: "Then there is the one at Arsenal too (Saliba) – he hasn’t yet had the game time to adapt to that necessary association. I don’t believe his individual qualities to be above average.

"He’s at a very, very high level but not extraordinary. So before absorbing the international level, he needs to acclimatise to those associations.

"As things stand I don’t know how to associate him with (Ibrahima) Konate or with (Dayot) Upamecano so that he can excel and develop all the talent that he has in him.” Desailly's harsh comments certainly come as a surprise considering how good Saliba has been since making his Arsenal debut a little over a year ago.”.

But this claim by Marcel Desailly has been contested by Rio Ferdinand and Martin Keown who believe that the former AC Milan defender spoke from a position of ignorance.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s game against Sevilla on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, Keown said: I really can’t understand that (Desailly’s comments). I think Saliba has the complete skill set.

'I think he’s right now one of the best defenders in Europe. He has everything you need. His pace is phenomenal. His power. He reads the situation really well.

'He has everything you need. He’s aggressive and I think he has everything he needs. I am really surprised by that comment.'

Keown finished by saying: 'We love having him at Arsenal because he’s physical and has everything you need.'

Rio Ferdinand agreed with Keown's comments and said he felt as though Desailly hadn't watched enough of Saliba.

Ferdinand said: 'I don’t think Marcel Desailly has watched enough of him. He might have seen one game or half a game. But his consistency has been fantastic.

'He’s the main man. He’s going to grow into a leader at this football club. That position demands concentration and minutes on the pitch.'

The former England international finished by saying: 'Saliba's producing performances way beyond his years.'

William Saliba has been instrumental for Arsenal in the 20223/2024 season featuring in all Premier League and Champions League matches played by the club.

He was involved in their 2-0 victory over Sevilla on Wednesday.

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Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.



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