William Saliba has jokingly said he wants his Arsenal teammate Gabriel Jesus to get knocked out of the World Cup so he doesn’t have to play against him.
France’s Saliba and Brazil’s Jesus are among the 10 Arsenal players representing their country in Qatar.
Both nations are among the heavy favourites to go all the way and lift the trophy, though neither player are regular starters for their country at the moment.
Forward Jesus came off the bench for Brazil’s wins over Serbia and Switzerland, though he has made the starting XI for Friday night’s game with Cameroon.
He starts alongside fellow Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli, with Brazil’s qualification for the knockout stage already guaranteed.
Defender Saliba meanwhile has played just 27 minutes so far, coming off the bench in France’s shock defeat to Tunisia, though Les Bleus had already secured their place in the round-of-16 by then.
Nevertheless, both players are still enjoying a fantastic season at club level, helping propel the Gunners to the top of the Premier League.
Saliba has been full of praise for Jesus, though the 21-year-old did admit that he hopes Brazil get knocked out before they have the chance to play France.
‘He [Jesus] is a top player, he’s doing good for us this year with Arsenal,’ Saliba said as quoted by French Football News.
‘I hope that he has a good performance, but just today. I hope that they [Brazil] are quickly knocked out.
‘I am not having exchanges with him during the World Cup.’
Should Brazil secure top spot in Group G as expected, they actually can’t be drawn against France until the final itself, and even if they somehow qualify as group runners-up the earliest they can face each other is the semi-final.
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