William Saliba has enjoyed an excellent start to his Arsenal career.
Saliba joined the north Londoners back in the summer of 2019 but was sent on loan three times over the last three seasons in an attempt to help him develop his game, earning Ligue 1's young player of the year award for his stellar displays for Marseille throughout the 2021/22 campaign. The Gunners have since started him in each of their three Premier League fixtures this season, with the young defender keeping two clean sheets and scoring his first goal for the club - a sublime weak-footed finish during Saturday's 3-0 win over Bournemouth.
The French international's performance even earned him a spot in Alan Shearer's team of the week. “Superb yet again and what a magnificent first goal for Arsenal,” Shearer told the Premier League website when explaining the inclusion of Saliba.
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The 21-year-old also earned praise from former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie Redknapp, who compared him to Leicester City star Wesley Fofana. “If you look at it, when you’ve got Fofana looking like he’s going to Chelsea they’ve offered £80m and they were a defensive partnership - I think at St Etienne where they both did really well,” Redknapp told Sky Sports when asked about Saliba.
“The two of them are just such thoroughbreds they read the game so well, classy on the ball. Going away has helped him grow as a player and the Premier League is so unforgiving but he’s learned, strong and such a mature player.”
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