According to the Sun, former Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre believes that William Saliba ‘will start from the get-go’ once he returns to the Gunners from Saint-Etienne.
Silvestre spoke highly of Saliba to Bet Pennsylvania, hailing his ‘good’ and ‘consistent’ performance for Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1.
Silvestre played for the Gunners for two years after joining from Manchester United, the former full-back seems to be really excited about Saliba.
As per BBC Sport, Arsenal parted with £27m to sign the centre-back last summer, with the Frenchman remaining with Saint-Etienne for the remainder of this season.
Here’s what the former full-back had to say on Saliba:
“William Saliba will start from the get-go when he joins Arsenal next season.”
“He’s currently playing for a struggling Saint-Etienne side, but his performances have been good and he’s been consistent.”
“Defensively he’s strong, so he’ll be looking to impress in pre-season.”
“He’ll need to adapt in that period, but he has enough time to learn from the Arsenal staff and players.”
“He’s still very young but has great experience from his time in Ligue 1.”
“He’ll continue to learn from the current centre-backs but he’ll have a big part to play from day one.”
The 18-year-old has battled a couple of injuries this season, but has still managed to impress in 17 appearances across all competitions for his boyhood club.
Saliba is certainly one of France’s top defensive talents, Arsenal fans will be excited to see that Silvestre has tipped the ace to make an immediate impact.
Mikel Arteta’s defensive line needs to be tightened up and it would certainly benefit from an injection of youth in the middle, with the likes of David Luiz and Sokratis approaching the final years of their careers.
We need the young blood next year but at list spear headed by an experienced one .