Old acquaintances will be renewed when Arsenal face Chelsea on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
Kai Havertz and Kepa Arrizabalaga may well see some of their former teammates over the weekend, while numerous international teammates will clash on the pitch.
Wesley Fofana has been in fantastic form for Chelsea recently, and on Sunday, he’ll be facing off against a player he knows very well – William Saliba.
Saliba is a fantastic player, and Fofana has reserved some special praise for the defender.
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Saliba and Fofana both came through together at Saint Etienne, while they’ve been teammates at international level for quite some time – featuring in the same squads on certain occasions.
Speaking to Stadium Astro, Fofana has been discussing Saliba ahead of facing him on Sunday, and he’s claimed he’s now one of the best in the world.
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Wesley Fofana makes William Saliba claim
Fofana spoke about Saliba and his friendship with the Arsenal star.
The Chelsea ace noted that he is good friends with Saliba, but he’s put their friendship on hold for a few days ahead of this game.
However, despite describing Saliba as his enemy ahead of this game, he says he’s maybe one of the best in the world at what he does.
“I expect this level because I know him from being young and he’s very good player. He’s a top defender, maybe one of the best in the world.
“And yeah, we talk because we are friends of course he plays for Arsenal. So now we will be enemies but we are friends and we talk sometimes but during this week we don’t talk. We don’t talk.”
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William Saliba’s record alongside Wesley Fofana
Not only are Saliba and Fofana good friends, they’re also teammates.
Saliba and Fofana played together at Saint Etienne, and they had a solid record when featuring together.
William Saliba’s record alongside Wesley FofanaGames16Wins9Draws2Losses5Clean sheets7
Of course, both players were only very young when they featured in the same team, and, since then, they have both gone on to bigger and better things.
Saliba and Fofana are yet to play together for France due to the presence of the likes of Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano as options for Didier Deschamps, but, as time goes on, perhaps Fofana and Saliba will establish themselves as Les Bleus’ first-choice pairing.
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