Arsenal fans have a theory about William Saliba after his unusually shoddy display for France on Monday night.
Saliba partnered Ibrahima Konate at the heart of the Les Bleus backline as they beat Belgium 2-1 away from home in the UEFA Nations League.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Randal Kolo Muani bagged a brace for France, who also had Aurelien Tchouameni sent off in the second half.
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Saliba is widely viewed as one of the best defenders in the world after a series of imperious performances for Arsenal.
But he had a couple of moments to forget in his latest outing for his country.
Saliba was at fault for Belgium's equaliser, giving away the ball in the build-up before losing RB Leipzig's Lois Openda and allowing him to head home.
Yet before that he had already given away a penalty by bringing down Openda.
In the 19th minute, France's backline was breached by Openda, who raced in behind towards goal.
Having tried to play offside - Saliba caught up with the 24-year-old but as he did, he slipped and recklessly swiped him out as he Openda checked back inside.
His blushes were spared as Youri Tielemans missed the resulting spot-kick but it was uncharacteristic horror show from Saliba.
However, Arsenal fans were not concerned by what they saw. In fact, many deemed it to be a blessing as they think it will stop Real Madrid from circling around one of their key players.
One explained: "Saliba playing like s**t on the world stage which means Madrid won’t come in for him."
A second said: "Saliba is such a real one for putting up this stinker to ward off Real Madrid's scouts."
A third commented: "Real Madrid are you sure you want to buy this Saliba? You might need to have a rethink."
A fourth sarcastically wrote: "Hope Real Madrid are watching. William Saliba isn’t all he’s cracked up to be, especially when he doesn’t have Gabriel beside him."
A final user posted: "Dear Real Madrid, this is the William Saliba you’d get if you bought him. Trust me you don’t want him."
Saliba will be in action for Arsenal this weekend as they travel to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Topics: Arsenal, William Saliba, France, Real Madrid, Fan Reactions
Josh Lawless