Speaking on ESPN FC, Leboeuf lauded Saliba after his display at Anfield and even joked that people in France believe he could play further up the pitch, alongside Martin Odegaard.
The guy is tremendous,” the pundit said. “He’s even better than last season. I saw today that even when he had the ball he was so clever.
“On the French television, [they] say he should play alongside Martin Odegaard as a number 10 because he knows exactly what to do with the ball, defensively the guy is so strong while being helped by his teammates.
“We cannot forget the others are working very hard as well and Gabriel was very good.”
aliba has been a revelation for Arsenal over the past 18 months and the £27 million they paid to sign him back in 2019 now looks like a modest fee, to say the least.
The France international has transformed Arteta’s backline and he continues to put in brilliant performances in the big games.
He was named as Arsenal’s best player against Liverpool yesterday, alongside Declan Rice.
Of course, Arsenal suffered massively last season after losing Saliba to an injury at the business end of the campaign.
Arteta will be hoping to avoid a similar situation this time around and at this moment in time, it could be argued that Saliba is Arsenal’s most important player.
