“He doesn’t have that at Arsenal” – William Gallas explains what could take William Saliba to ‘an even higher level’ at the Emirates

William Gallas believes Arsenal defender William Saliba's development would be aided if he had a 'top-class' partner in central defender.

Following three seasons on loan at Ligue 1 clubs, the defender has been incredibly impressive for the Gunners this season, starting all eight of their Premier League encounters.

William Saliba on the north London derby:

🗣️ "I wait a long time for my first north London derby, I enjoyed it since the first minute to the end, and I am so happy. It’s a derby, a big game, where all the fans and the players want to win. I like to play big games like this." https://t.co/0DOxi20JLa

Saliba has made himself indispensable with his displays at the back this term as Arsenal sit atop the league table. Former Gunners and France defender Gallas has heaped praise on the young centre-back. The pundit told Genting Casino:

“I thought Saliba was excellent. He was very strong in his performance, focussed, he won all of his individual battles and duels. 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."

Explaining that Sailba would benefit from being paired with a more experienced defender, Gallas continued:

“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.”

Gabriel Magalhaes has partnered Saliba in every league game across the campaign so far. However, the Brazilian did give away a penalty in the north London derby last weekend, which Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane converted.

🇫🇷 Give William Saliba any numbers he wants! Arsenal’s French Superstar is one of the best defenders on planet Earth right now. He is the definition of a generational talent https://t.co/6SwzrJu06V

William Gallas hails Arsenal fans for creating incredible atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium

Mikel Arteta's side beat Tottenham 3-1 last time out in arguably their biggest win of the season so far. Gallas feels that the home crowd helped enormously during the clash. He said:

"I was at the match but before I can speak about the game, I have to mention the fans; the atmosphere was absolutely unbelievable. I haven’t experienced an atmosphere at a football game like that in a long, long time. The fans were going crazy and the support that they gave the Arsenal players was incredible."

Emirates atmosphere is becoming quite rudely underrated these days. https://t.co/ZNm4JsTvpg