Arsenal may have their very own World Cup winner by Sunday evening. France take on Argentina in Qatar and William Saliba will be part of the French squad at the Lusail Stadium.
The Arsenal defender has only made one appearance for Les Bleus at the tournament, coming on for 27 minutes in France's 1-0 loss against Tunisia in the group stages. Didier Deschamps has not given the centre-back any more chances, instead preferring Raphael Varane, Ibrahima Konate or Dayot Upamecano.
It was thought Saliba may have a chance of starting the final after the aforementioned trio were struck down by a virus. But Varane and Konate trained on Saturday and are expected to start vs Argentina on Sunday.
READ MORE: D idier Deschamps gives update on France virus ahead of World Cup final vs Argentina
Whether or not Saliba starts is irrelevant to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who confirmed he will be watching the final on Sunday afternoon along with the rest of the Gunners squad. The Spaniard revealed his plans after the Gunners' 2-0 friendly defeat to Juventus on Saturday.
When asked about Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko's chances of being fit for the Boxing Day clash against West Ham, Arteta said: "Alex is progressing well. Tomi is already running on the pitch. Hopefully we’ll get those.
"The international players are joining as well this week and then we’ll all be watching William Saliba as well tomorrow to see if he can win the World Cup."
It's not clear whether the Arsenal squad will be watching the game together at London Colney or individually at their homes. Wherever they plan to watch it, everyone associated with the Gunners will most likely be cheering on Saliba and France in one way or another.
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