The exact moment Didier Deschamps decided William Saliba was the next big thing has gone viral
Saliba made his international debut earlier this year, but has hit another level with Arsenal.
France manager Didier Deschamps' reaction to meeting up with William Saliba ahead of this month's internationals has gone viral. You can check it out below:
Saliba's introduction to the Arsenal team this season has been transformative, with the Gunners currently top of the Premier League.
The 21-year-old has slotted in perfectly next to Gabriel at the back after three years out on loan and is looking like a future star.
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Deschamps called Saliba up to the national team for the first time earlier this year, but even compared to then he's grown as a player and in stature.
While Saliba embraced another coach, Deschamps appeared to look up and down every bit of his six foot four frame before shaking his hand.
The World Cup winner looked stunned as he let out a wry smile. It was the smile of a man who knows he has a generational talent on his hands.
France have a wealth of talent at their disposal and Saliba being at the top of a stacked list says a lot.
Fans have reacted to the footage and they think it's hilarious.
One person said: "This is literally the first time I've ever truly noticed how tall Saliba is."
Another commented: "Why was he looking like he was in love?"
A third tweeted: "Looking at him like a prized gladiator."
While someone put: "He was like lemme double check he’s real."
Saliba scored the opener in Sunday's 3-0 victory over Brentford, his second goal of the campaign so far.
What makes his performance more impressive is the fact he didn't train for over a week prior to the game.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports in his post-match interview: "He was superb. He hasn’t trained for ten days because he had some discomfort, but he comes in and competes like that.
"Not only the goal and his defending but he does the ugly part of the game that people won’t recognise. He deserves credit.
"I’m really pleased [with] the way we played. The performance how we controlled certain areas of the game that are very much needed if you want to dominate the game against Brentford and obviously really pleased to win the match and go top of the league into the break."
Saliba is hopeful of starting for France at this winter's World Cup in Qatar, set to kick-off on November 20.
SPORTbible Stories is the brand-new podcast from the SPORT team at LADbible. The first episode features a chat with former Burnley manager Sean Dyche as he opens up on his departure from Turf Moor, what the future holds and the amazing story of the spin wheel for fines while in charge of the Clarets. You can watch the first episode here.
Topics: Arsenal, William Saliba, France
Daniel Marland