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Arsenal saw their hopes of winning the Premier League get shattered as Liverpool were crowned champions after they hammered Tottenham Hotspur.
While they are all set to finish second in the league for the third time in three seasons, the Gunners have shifted their focus to the Champions League as a historic week awaits the North London outfit.
Arsenal are gearing up to face Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals of the Champions League. It will be their first semifinal since 2009.
Mikel Arteta's men gained a lot of confidence after they knocked out reigning champions Real Madrid in the quarterfinals. They did not only beat Los Blancos but dominated both the games and finished with an aggregate score of 5-1.
The North Londoners showed great defensive resilience and were extremely clinical in the quarterfinals. Their victories over Real Madrid have given them and their fans an added momentum and belief that this may well be their year.
However, building up to the first leg of the semifinal against PSG, William Saliba was often labelled as the best centre back in the world courtesy of some of his exceptional performances this season.
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What did William Saliba say about the claim?
Despite hearing extremely flattering praise about his game, the Frenchman has deflected the claims of him being the best in his position.
The 24-year-old has played down the label as he told Telefoot, "I think I am one of the best, but not yet the best defender in the world. I can still become much better one day, I hope to improve."
Saliba is easily one of the best defenders in the world right now. Therefore Real Madrid have been long admirers of the French international.
He has developed a great partnership with teammate Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of the Arsenal defence. His inclusion has benefitted Arteta's team as they have conceded the least goals in the Premier League this season (29).
Despite all his talent, Saliba made a couple of errors in the last few games. Firstly, he gave the ball away cheaply in the second leg against Real Madrid, which resulted in Vinicius Jr. scoring. He repeated the same error against Crystal Palace as Jean-Philippe Mateta took advantage of this time.
Former Arsenal player Martin Keown was not happy with similar mistakes and warned the players to stay alert in the crucial clash against Luis Enrique's PSG. The first leg will be played at Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
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