‘He is the only one in the Arsenal team that gives me so much joy all the time’: Rio Ferdinand seriously impressed with £27m Arsenal player despite loss against Newcastle
Arsenal defender has been hailed as ‘unreal’ by Rio Ferdinand after his performance against Newcastle United.
William Saliba was simply ‘unreal’ for Arsenal despite their 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday evening.
That is the verdict of Rio Ferdinand, who has been speaking about Saliba on FIVE.
Arsenal lost 1-0 at St James’ Park on Saturday evening, falling to a single goal from Magpies winger Anthony Gordon.
The goal came in controversial circumstances but Newcastle didn’t care at all, claiming a hugely important victory.
Rio Ferdinand hails Arsenal defender William Saliba
This was not a vintage performance from Arsenal but there were some bright spots – including defender Saliba.
The Frenchman didn’t record incredible stats against Newcastle; one interception, two clearances and two successful aerial duels.
We did though see Saliba pull off some pretty impressive footwork to keep the ball away from Newcastle attackers.
That was enough to dazzle pundit Rio Ferdinand, who told FIVE that he felt Saliba was ‘unreal’ against Newcastle.
Ferdinand even joked that Saliba skill on the ball reminded him of himself, with Ferdinand certainly one of the best defenders on the ball in his prime.
“He was unreal,” said Ferdinand. “He played well, he done a bit of skill as well and I thought… ‘that reminds me [of me]’! It was nice,” he added.
Saliba looks like an Arsenal bargain now
Arsenal paid £27million to sign Saliba in 2019, investing after just 16 league appearances for Saint-Etienne over in France.
Arsenal sent Saliba straight back on loan to Saint-Etienne, and then on to Rennes and Marseille before he finally got his Gunners career kickstarted in 2022.
It took a while, and some wondered if Mikel Arteta really fancied Saliba, but he is now turning in top performances that make his £27million price tag seem like a snip.
Saliba is still only 22 as well, so we can expect to see him grow even more in the coming years, becoming one of the top defenders in all of Europe.
