Finalist in the last Champions League, William Saliba saw PSG win for the second year in a row at the end of a hard-fought match (1-1 after, 3-4 at the tab). Questioned by L’Équipe before the start of the World Cup, the Blues defender remains ambitious for the future and is already warning the reigning double European champions.
Called by Didier Deschamps to compete in the World Cup in North America, William Saliba keeps a bitter taste from the last match of his season with Arsenal. Despite the Premier League title, awaited for 22 years, the London club did not manage to beat PSG in the Champions League final (1-1 ap, 3-4 tab). The French international does not hide his “regrets» en evoquant le scénario du match.
“There aren’t many teams that blocked PSG like we did.”
« When you open the scoring in a final (Kai Havertz, 6th), when you only concede the equalizer from the penalty spot (Ousmane Dembélé, 65th) and when you lose on penalties, obviously you are bitterreconnaît A crossquestioned by The Team. I heard that we scored too early but I prefer to open the score against a team like PSG rather than the other way around, otherwise you risk exploding. People forget that we have a nice 2-0 ball from Havertz just before the break. If we put it on, would people have said we scored too early? We had the right game plan, we felt Paris frustrated like never before in the first half, there aren’t many teams who blocked PSG like we did. But hey, even if there is pride for the whole season, particularly among our supporters, the next day, at the parade (organized in London for the title of champion), I forced myself to smile so as not to spoil the party. »
“We have every intention of dislodging Paris in the Champions League.”
« It is undoubtedly the best team in Europe. But they are not untouchable“, continues William Saliba about the PSGbefore displaying his ambitions for the future: “We challenged them well. And in the same way that we got closer year after year to City in England before succeeding in overtaking them, we have every intention of dislodging Paris in the Champions League. Each season, we advance: quarters in 2024, half in 2025, final this year. Maybe next year…»
