William Saliba has been the major talking point following Arsenal's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in their opening game of the 2022/23 season.
After joining the Gunners in a £27m deal in the 2019 summer transfer window and then spending time on loan with Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille, the Frenchman's Premier League debut - in fact, his first competitive start for the club - was effectively three years in the making, and he didn't disappoint.
Picking up the Sky Sports man-of-the-match award, being compared to Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand and scoring the highest of any player in football.london's player ratings, it was certainly an encouraging start to Saliba's Arsenal career, and some may say it's about time he got his chance.
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And that performance at Selhurst Park, coupled with some impressive outings in pre-season and not forgetting his superb loan spell with Marseille last season may point toward the 21-year-old joining manager Mikel Arteta's core group after the transfer window closes.
After splashing out a combined total of £112.5m to sign Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko so far this summer, amid links to Youri Tielemans and a 'mystery winger' there's still time for the Spaniard to change his mind with regards to which players will feature in his strongest starting XI week-in, week-out when fit and available over the course of the season.
Prior to facing Crystal Palace, there was an argument that £45m summer signing Gabriel Jesus will be assured a place in the starting XI regardless of the formation most weeks alongside goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, Thomas Partey, newly-appointed captain Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
In addition, there was a case for Gabriel Magalhaes to be included in this list and that was mainly down to Arteta's preference for a left-footer playing as the left-sided defender to bring balance to the back line, thus leaving Saliba and Ben White to compete as the right-sided defender.
Although, as pointed out by Gary Neville on Sky Sports before the Gunners beat Palace, Saliba might be ahead in the pecking order after pushing the "£50m signing out to right-back which is an achievement in itself" in south London and for two pre-season friendlies prior.
Of course, this sets up an intriguing scenario when Takehiro Tomiyasu regains full fitness and is available for selection again. Does Arteta immediately hand the reliable Japan international a recall? If so, what would that mean for White? His massive price-tag last summer suggested he would be the centre piece of the Arsenal defence for years to come, but Saliba's return has shaken things up.
Whilst rotation will be key - especially leading up to the World Cup - and the situation shining a light on the Gunners' strength in depth at centre-back, a settled partnership will be key to a top-four finish and early signs indicate Saliba is well on his way to becoming a permanent fixture in the back four.
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