Rio Ferdinand has warned Arsenal fans not to put too much pressure on William Saliba after his impressive form at the start of the Premier League season.
The 21-year-old faced his toughest test when the Gunners made the trip to Manchester United and it safe to say he struggled with the pace of Marcus Rashford. The England international scored twice on the counter-attack as Arsenal's winning record came to an end with a 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford.
Although it wasn't Saliba's best performance, he stood out in the five matches before that and the Gunners continue to sit pretty at the top of the division. Saliba, who spent last season on loan at Marseille, has been compared to Ferdinand for his strong approach to challenges and duels.
However, the Manchester United legend has dismissed those comparisons and picked out four of his former club or international teammates who he felt were performing at a higher level than Saliba at the same age, 21. Ferdinand also feels the Gunners stalwart didn't pass "the Rashford test".
He told his Vibe with FIVE YouTube channel : "Jonathan Woodgate, Sol Campbell, John Terry, trust me. Woodgate, 100 percent, without any hesitation. Wes Brown at 21. He was winning Champions Leagues. He was in the treble-winning team, he played games in that team."
On Saliba’s peformance at Old Trafford, Ferdinand added: "He failed the Rashford test. You don’t need to put this pressure on Saliba, he’s just five games in just let him play.
"You’re salivating over Saliba but he’s probably in the changing room thinking 'I’ve got my DNA on two, maybe three, of the goals in some way shape or form.' Some people might say three, I’m saying two. His fingerprints are on two of the goals and he’s sitting there with 0 points from the game.
"He’s playing offside. The manager’s not told him to do that. They didn’t play offside at any other time in that game. He’s on the halfway line thinking he’s last man and steps up over the halfway line to play offside when Ben White’s playing him onside."
This isn't the first time that Ferdinand has hit back at comparisons between himself and Saliba. Speaking in mid-August, after Arsenal's 4-2 victory over Leicester, Ferdinand said : "How old is he [Saliba]? How many Premier League games has he played? How many Premier League games had I played at that point? I broke the British transfer record at that time and people are drawing comparisons? It’s a madness! Give the boy time, give him some time!
"He’s doing well. Listen, you don’t judge players when it’s all going well. You say 'brilliant', I like to see the next phase. When it all goes against you and it’s a little bit of distress, now I still want to see the chest popping out. I still want to see shoulders back.
"And I still want to see you wanting the ball and see you on the front foot and showing that determination and desire… a lot of what we’re not getting at Man United. But Saliba, he is showing great potential. Young player of the year in France last year, he’s got a lot to do to make sure he stay in the team but he started off very, very well."
