William Saliba: Here to Stay ✍️

[Batman]

Four with an additional year option is good for us right not the player.

Depends on if it's a club or player option.

 

[sdotzdot]

Bro pls come back from Injury you are the chosen one.

 

[berric]

Are we gonna have some official statement on this?

 

[Batman]

Bro pls come back from Injury you are the chosen one.

He's been jet skiing. I assume that means his back is fine now.

 

[MartiSaka]

 

[blaze_of_glory]

No idea who this guy is

 

[Camron]

No idea who this guy is

@A_G in the mod app group when he clocks the source

 

[CaseUteinberger]

Most important signing of the offseason!

 

[boonthegoon]

Ornbomb

 

[benjamin86]

Ornbomb

Interesting others said he had a plus 1 option. I'm a little worried we're going to have too many players contract all ending 2027.

 

[Trilly]

Spoiler: William Saliba, Arsenal’s defensive rock forged in France

View attachment 15772


By James McNicholas
Jun 12, 2023

In tying William Saliba down to a new contract, Arsenal have arguably secured the future of one of the finest centre-halves in England. But this is a player made in France.

By the time Saliba made his competitive Arsenal debut at 21, he had already played for three Ligue 1 clubs — Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille. Each was crucial to his development.

Scout Ludovic Paradinas first saw Saliba when he was just nine years old. He did not make the immediate impression you might expect. “I was in Bondy watching a game on a synthetic pitch,” Paradinas tells The Athletic. “It was a Saturday afternoon, and William at that precise moment was playing as an attacker.” The boy was already strong and physically gifted, but lacked the technical quality seen in a young attacker.

Playing at the top end of the pitch meant that for some time, Saliba was an undiscovered secret. Typically in France, promising players are identified at the age of 12 or 13. Saliba was 14 before Paradinas recommended him to Saint-Etienne. “It’s because he played further forward when he was younger,” explains Philippe Guillemet, who served as the director of Saint-Etienne’s academy centre between 2017 and 2021. “That’s what fooled recruiters all over France.”

Paradinas watched Saliba in Bondy again at U-13 level, but remained unconvinced by his potential as an attacker. “Then, at the end of the season, I got a call from Abdelaziz Kaddour, technical manager at FC Montfermeil, asking me to come and see his new central defender,” says Paradinas. “It was William. He had changed clubs and position!

“I watched him to evaluate his defensive profile. He already exuded this strength, this power, and he also had this technical quality which allowed him to find very beautiful vertical passes or to attempt his fantastic gallops up the field.”

Paradinas decided to take Saliba for a trial at Saint-Etienne. They travelled to the old mining town by train, accompanied by two other young footballers — one of whom was Saidou Sow, now a member of the Saint-Etienne first-team squad.

“I picked them up from the station,” former academy Guillemet tells The Athletic. “We used to give out Saint-Etienne shirts to young players who came on trial. I put their luggage in the trunk and I gave each of these boys, including William, a shirt. We went to the training ground, and he did his first trial. Immediately, we loved the player.

“He already had athletic qualities. He wasn’t very good at heading the ball, but he’s fast enough for a big guy, and he reads the game well — anticipation, game intelligence.

“He is not afraid to play. He is always in the game. He might receive a difficult ball but he always manages to find a team-mate with a pass, wherever he is on the pitch. That is, above all else, because he has technique, and a very good state of mind.

“He is a kid who is serious, who gets it, who has always done everything possible to succeed as a professional. From the day he reported to Saint-Etienne, he’s always had the right behaviour. It’s that simple.”

Saliba, who was already tall for his age, made a big impression at the club. “He was everyone’s big brother,” says Guillemet. “So he towered over everyone.”

“At that time, he was living in a complicated family situation because one of his relatives was sick,” explains scout Paradinas. “We wanted only one thing, it was to help him and to love him. And he gave it back to us with exemplary behaviour on the pitch. In day-to-day life he was nice, but as soon as he entered the field he was a completely different man, combative and determined.”

William Saliba playing for Saint-Etienne in 2018 (Photo: Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images)

Crucially, Saliba felt at home at Saint-Etienne. Even when he graduated to the first team, he still lived in the academy accommodation at the club’s training ground complex.

“He had signed his pro contract, but was sleeping at the training centre,” says Guillemet. “Why? Because he didn’t feel able to take on the responsibility for his nutrition. At the training centre, he had prepared meals, which we could continue to monitor.

“He had his old room but bought a large TV, which he put at the foot of the bed, since he could afford it. And then he led an ideal siesta lifestyle. He did everything there, which allowed him to carry out his thrilling career.

“And it was good for us. If there was someone who was misbehaving in the training centre and he needed to have a little word, he would. He has that presence, and he managed to temper all those things. William calmed down people who were a little upset or made mistakes.”

Though Saliba graduated to the first team at 17, many of his friends remained in Saint-Etienne’s academy teams. In 2019, the club reached the Coupe Gambardella, the equivalent of England’s FA Youth Cup. Saliba had played in earlier rounds but was unavailable for the final due to his involvement with the first team.

“But he was with them mentally, and sent them messages during the tournament,” says Guillemet. “When we won the final, it was the best day of my life. It was at the Stade de France, it gets your blood pumping.”

The following day, the youth team were brought to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard to appear on the pitch at full-time, even though the senior team had an important match of their own against Toulouse that day.

“If the pros won, we could party,” says Guillemet. “But if not, we couldn’t really celebrate. Well, we won 2-0, and the youngsters and the pros celebrated together, and the fans welcomed them. It was a wonderful day.

“William was there with the professionals and his friends. Someone tapped him on the head and got him to hold the cup. This is the message they sent him: ‘You couldn’t be with us because you are with the professionals, but we are grateful to you’.”

Saliba hoped to experience cup success of his own when Saint-Etienne reached the final of the Coupe de France in 2020. The fixture was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Arsenal did not agree to extend the loan agreement and allow him to play.

“That was terrible,” says Guillemet. “It was a big moment for him but it was the club’s choice.

“When I watched William in Saint-Etienne, you could see he had a lot of talent. But now it’s much stronger — physically he is better, stronger, and in his head too. He’s more mature. And he’s quite happy in England now.

“Those of us in France who rubbed shoulders with him and saw him develop were surprised when Arsenal didn’t want to play him. He stayed with Saint-Etienne for a year, so we thought he was going to be ready for Arsenal. He didn’t play and he went on loan to Nice and then Marseille.

“But he didn’t lower his head. He showed that he could play for a big club like Arsenal.”

---

Adrian Ursea has pedigree in moulding young centre-halves of potential for Arsenal. He had two spells with Swiss side Servette, and during his first period there he spent considerable time doing individual work with a teenage Philippe Senderos.

“He was the assistant coach of Lucien Favre, who gave me my chance at 16,” Senderos tells The Athletic. “We used to do extra one-on-one training sessions for a couple of years before I moved to Arsenal.”

Ursea followed Favre to Nice before working as Patrick Vieira’s assistant. When the former Arsenal captain was sacked in December 2020 Ursea was installed as the new Nice manager until the end of the season. Their priority was to improve in defence.

“Julien Fournier, the director of football, suggested the name of William,” says Ursea. “The problem we had was that he had played very, very little with Arsenal. We didn’t have a lot of data either.”

At that point, Saliba had not been registered for Arsenal’s Europa League squad and was not getting any Premier League minutes. The closest he came to elite competition was a couple of run-outs with Arsenal’s under-21s in the EFL Trophy. Ursea says: “The question we asked ourselves was, ‘Could he reach the level and the rhythm? Will he be operational immediately?’.”

Ursea spoke with Julien Sable, a coach who had worked with Saliba at Saint-Etienne, and he was emphatic in his praise. “We didn’t have a lot of information, but all I saw in terms of his development and potential were superlatives.”

Saliba joined Nice on loan on January 4, 2021. Two days later, he was starting a Ligue 1 match against Brest.

“Three hours before the game, I didn’t know if I could start him because he wasn’t registered yet,” says Ursea. “I had confirmation just before the match. He had done, at most, two training sessions with us.

“I had seen video of the matches he played with Arsenal’s reserve team, playing as a left-sided central defender in a back four. I had the information we got from Saint-Etienne, the report from his medical, and that was it.

“The information we had reassured us. There were still some fears over what he could give physically but we needed a central defender to stabilise the defence. And even though we lost the game (2-0), William gave off such personality. I was won over.”

By the end of the window, Ursea and Nice had added the loan signing of Jean-Clair Todibo from Barcelona. Todibo and Saliba enabled Ursea to switch to a back four and the team finished mid-table.

“I discovered a boy who was really, really interesting,” says Ursea. “The short time spent in England navigating between the first team and reserves took him to the next level in terms of mentality. The information we had was that in terms of training, Saint-Etienne was a little ‘cosy cosy’.

“With us, we discovered someone who trained really well. That difficult period in England allowed him to make the transition, to make a big leap in terms of the approach to the job, of how to prepare, how to recover, how it was necessary to approach life with respect to matches.

“After four or five games, I had a discussion with my staff. I said then that I thought he would very soon reach the France team and integrate into a big club in Europe. He would return to Arsenal as a starter or join a top team elsewhere. I saw a big, big, big potential.”

As he had done with Senderos a decade earlier, Ursea spent time on the training ground honing Saliba’s game.

“We worked a lot,” he explains. “We spoke about everything, it’s not rocket science: when it’s necessary to train technical movements, little coordination steps, footwork, things that above all had repercussions on his technical level in small spaces for example when under pressure. We had to improve that, but he worked hard.”

Ursea was as impressed by Saliba off the pitch as on it. “He is really very composed,” he says. “I found a boy who was very mature for his age. He’s not an extroverted person, but on the pitch, he expresses himself and he takes responsibility.

“He is a master of whatever he wants to do.”

---

Saliba’s year in Marseille was the final step in readying him for Arsenal.

Saliba challenges Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe while playing for Marseille in 2021 (Photo: Christophe Simon/AFP via Getty Images)

It was nearly more than that: he adored the club, the atmosphere, the city. He felt part of the club in a way he never had in north London. Had Arsenal shown a willingness to sell him, it would have been his destination of choice.

“He loved Marseille,” says Guillemet. “It was a fantastic year.

“Speaking to people close to him, he had doubts about Arsenal because there were some issues between him and the coach. Now he is happy in London.”

After another outstanding season in France, Ursea was in no doubt Saliba had the capacity to play for Arsenal.

“When he arrived back at Arsenal last summer, I sent him a little message,” he says. “Especially after the year he had in Marseille, I didn’t worry — I was pretty sure he would take a starting place.”

Saliba’s time under Jorge Sampaoli at Marseille saw him turn from a boy to a man. It hardened him physically and psychologically. When he returned to London Colney, Arsenal staff were taken aback at the stark difference from the player they had cast their eyes over dubiously in the summer of 2020.

“He made enormous progress in Marseille, particularly on the mental side,” says Ursea. “He had a few points where he was lacking that needed to be remedied, and he understood that he had to work to do that.

“I’m very happy for him because he’s a very, very nice person. We love him.”

Just catching up with the thread and it’s jokes how nobody commented on the bolded.

Glad it’s worked out though, in him Saka and Ode that’s three players with absolute world class potential.

 

[UpTheGunnerz]

Stop! Wait a minute
Fill my cup put Saliba in it

 

[DanDare]

Appropriate wage for his talent level and likely performances over the length of the contract


Excellent

 

[Trilly]

Damn, 200k a week

Deserved though.

 

[AberGooner]

Thank ****. Signing of the summer.

 

[King87]

Disappointed with the 4year contract tbh, same with Saka(who wanted a release clause inserted btw) almost like they are hedging their bet for that big move along the line. They will both be off eventually and people will likely turn against them

If you ask me only Martinelli and Big Gabby looks to be fully committed and willing to remain with the club long term.

 

[Batman]

Disappointed with the 4year contract tbh, same with Saka(who wanted a release clause inserted btw) almost like they are hedging their bet for that big move along the line. They will both be off eventually and people will likely turn against them

If you ask me only Martinelli and Big Gabby looks to be fully committed and willing to remain with the club long term.

Why would either of them lock themselves in longer than necessary? Even if you love the club, if you back yourself to perform you want your next pay raise to come as quickly as possible. Both are considerably smarter than everyone signing their lives away at Chelsea.

 

[Macho]

Disappointed with the 4year contract tbh, same with Saka(who wanted a release clause inserted btw) almost like they are hedging their bet for that big move along the line. They will both be off eventually and people will likely turn against them

If you ask me only Martinelli and Big Gabby looks to be fully committed and willing to remain with the club long term.

I think he has an option for a 5th but I could be imagining it.

If we don’t win anything in 2 years and they want to go, then assuming they maintain their form cashing in wouldn’t be a bad thing for the club.

 

[MartiSaka]

Interesting others said he had a plus 1 option. I'm a little worried we're going to have too many players contract all ending 2027.

Four years with a young, hungy and stable sqaud. Its a good window of time to focus upon winning things without having to worry about massive squad changes. Not sure of arteta's contract length but 2027 is the period where he might look for a new project. There could be a squad overhaul then.

 

[CaseUteinberger]

Saliba signing was never in any doubt considering his full name:

William Alain André Gabriel Saliba

It is written in the stars! Our 4th Gabriel announcing Arteta's will to men!