Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been impressed by what he has seen from defender William Saliba in pre-season, and has urged him to continue that into the new season.
The 21 year-old signed on a permanent deal from St Etienne back in 2019, but has spent three separate loan spells in Ligue 1 since, and is now gearing up for a first-team role at the Emirates.
After featuring in all four of our pre-season outings in the US in July, the manager has been impressed with what he has seen from Saliba,
“I am really pleased to see the way he is playing, the way he has adapted to the team, the maturity that he’s shown at 21-years-old, carry on doing it,” Arteta said as quoted by the Express. “We will keep developing him, he has a huge potential, he is already a top player and we have to make him even better. He looked ready to me today.”
Saliba may not be expected to start the new season as first choice, but I certainly believe that he will end the campaign with as many starts as Ben White in the RCB role.
He’s already shown plenty in preseason to suggest that he will quickly settle into our squad, and I believe Arteta will quickly be convinced of his credentials.
Patrick