William Saliba’s rise to elite Premier League footballer has not been easy, yet he had some top clubs chasing his signature.
Now residing safely in Arsenal’s backline, his absence with injury last season was cruelly felt by manager Mikel Arteta as their title surge crumbled towards the final stretch.
Yet Arteta might just count his lucky stars that he has Saliba at all, considering the interest in his services as a youngster.
Arsenal had been tracking his progress for several years before making their move in 2019 and then loaning him back to Saint-Etienne.
But they were not alone as Manchester United looked to snap up the defender as well.
Having only broken into the Saint-Etienne side that season, it was a rapid rise to make such a huge decision.
However, Saliba already knew where his heart was when United came forward with an approach.
The young centre-back, naturally, had his head turned by such a big club but that changed when Arsenal made their interest known.
Saliba has supported the Gunners since he was a young lad, a club that has always had strong French connections due to manager Arsene Wenger and superstar players in Thierry Henry and Robert Pires.
And while United came and failed, there was then a late push from Tottenham to try and prise him away from the Emirates.
But Spurs should have known that any chance of signing a top Gooner is close to zero – especially when Arsenal were in the race.
“I have a crush on Arsenal,” he told L’Equipe in July 2020.
And while it seemed a happy marriage, it nearly ended in divorce when Arteta left Saliba off his European squad list after his return to the club in 2020 from his loan at Saint-Etienne.
It led to another stint away, this time at Nice in January 2021 before sending him out again to Marseille, where he became a fan favourite.
The French club were desperate to keep hold of the defender while ex-Gunners star Matteo Guendouzi was the one trying to entice him to stay.
In the end, his dream of playing for Arsenal prevailed – and it has worked out for everyone.
Now, Saliba is arguably the club’s best defender and has been compared to Raphael Varane and Virgil van Dijk.
After locking down the France international to a long-term contract this summer, Arsenal have truly gained a monstrous player wearing the no.4 and Premier League strikers know it will be a tough defence to crack.
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https://talksport.com/football/1524716/william-saliba-arsenal-man-utd-tottenham-transfer/
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