Montpellier forward Stephy Mavididi says Olympique Marseille defender William Saliba can be a star for parent club Arsenal.

Mavididi is a former Gunners prospect.

“That guy's a player," Mavididi told LiveScore. “He's hands down one of the best defenders in the league, hands down. I think he'll walk back into the Arsenal team next season.

“When I played against him last year I thought: 'How is this guy not playing at Arsenal?'.

“He's strong, good on the ball, he reads the game well. Sometimes you walk off the pitch and think - fair play man, respect.

“The defender has kept up with you, out tussled you, out quitted you, you have to say fair play, this guy's a good player.

“He's one of the best centre-backs I've faced. Everyone can talk about Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Jerome Boateng, but he's up there.

“He's the one that surprised me the most. I'm an Arsenal fan too and playing against Saliba I thought, we've got a very decent defender here!"