Emmanuel Petit claims Arsenal defender William Saliba ‘has all the qualities’ to emulate Chelsea legend John Terry.
Saliba has established himself as key member of Mikel Arteta’s squad at the Emirates, starting all 13 of Arsenal’s Premier League games this season.
Arsenal spent £27m on Saliba in 2019 but his first-team prospects in north London did not appear overly optimistic as he was sent out on three successive loan moves back to France.
But Saliba is now justifying his reputation, starring in the heart of Arsenal’s defence to help the Gunners climb to the top of the Premier League.
Former Arsenal midfielder Petit has been impressed by Saliba’s form and says the Gunners star could even emulate Premier League legend Terry.
The ex-Chelsea and England star is considered one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history, having won five league titles, five FA Cups and the Champions League during his 19-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
‘William Saliba is amazing. He has all the qualities to do the same as John Terry,’ Petit told Lord Ping.
‘He’s very mature, came back to Arsenal with a lot of motivation and he’s improved a lot as a human being as well as a footballer.
‘Saliba was a rock against Chelsea, I wouldn’t like to be a striker playing against him because he’s tough and his confidence is really entering his game.’
Petit also delivered his verdict on Arsenal’s title chances, claiming his former club will fall short of glory for two reasons as they look to take Manchester City’s crown.
‘I’ve been very pleased with the way that Arsenal have been playing since the beginning of the season,’ he added.
‘They deserved to win against Chelsea but I still believe there’s a gap between them and Man City because of two things; the depth of the squad, you can’t compare the quality of the bench between either side.
‘Secondly, Man City signed Erling Haaland to fill a void and if you compare him with Gabriel Jesus, I really like Jesus but he’s not a match-winner and Haaland is.
‘You can see that when he came off the bench against Fulham, he made a big difference in the game and that’s the difference.
‘No one knows what Arsenal are going to do in the next transfer window, but they need to add quality players to the squad.’
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