Arsenal star William Saliba continues to prove that coach Didier Deschamps was wrong in not using him for a long time by helping France defeat Austria at EURO 2024.

There was a time when coach Deschamps ignored him at the French team. The 55-year-old strategist often uses the midfielder pair Konate and Ucapemano, instead of William Saliba.

Even before EURO 2024, the Arsenal star did not receive recognition from Deschamps. Despite the 23-year-old midfielder’s stable performance throughout the two seasons in the Premier League.

But the draw against Canada really opened a big turning point for William Saliba. The Arsenal pillar won the trust of Deschamps and was named in the official squad in the opening match against Austria at EURO 2024.

France won a hard-fought victory over Austria with a final score of 1-0. William Saliba also personally contributed greatly to this victory.

According to Opta, the Arsenal star has impressive stats with 6 clearances, 7 successful defensive support situations, 1 tackle and a passing accuracy of up to 94%.

William Saliba’s excellence has partly made Deschamps realize the mistake of always keeping a world-class midfielder on the bench.

To be fair, there is still a bit of a disconnect between Saliba and Ucapemano. But this is only a matter of time as both promise to create one of the reliable blocking positions for the French team in this year’s EURO.