On Saturday afternoon, when William Saliba was heading towards the dressing room at the Emirates Stadium after Arsenal‘s 3-1 win against Tottenham, his first victory in a North London derby, Peter Mujuzi, the club’s DJ/PA announcer, had a bright idea. He played The Champs’ classic song “Tequila,” which Arsenal fans have turned into a Saliba song by shouting the Frenchman’s name instead of the signature lyric.
As Saliba was about to disappear into the tunnel, the whole stadium chanted his name in song. The 21-year-old defender applauded the fans in thanks with a huge grin on his face. The Paris-born-and-bred player is already a fans’ favourite and, more importantly, has been one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League so far this season. Yet his success and quick adaptation to one of the world’s best leagues is no surprise if you know the former Saint-Etienne defender.
Saliba’s talent has been obvious since he made his Ligue 1 debut with Les Verts at 17 years old in September 2018. He’d only moved to the club’s academy two years earlier after playing for many years with Bondy, in the north suburbs of Paris, where he is from, and with a certain Wilfried Mbappe — father of Kylian Mbappe — as a coach, before then starring with Montfermeil.
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However, more than his talent, Saliba’s personality sets him apart from other players. He has supreme confidence in his own ability and is not fazed by pressure or expectations. Growing up in the Paris banlieues was tough: he learned the game by playing on the streets, on concrete, against bigger and stronger boys. So he had to be self-assured, solid and hungry, otherwise he would not have made the cut. He replicated the same sense of confidence when he joined Arsenal for preseason this past summer.
Saliba was aware that not many people at the club knew him when he came back to London. Three years after signing for €30 million, he had spent his entire time out on loan to Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille to gain experience. Marseille wanted to keep him on a permanent deal and tried everything to do so in the last transfer window, but Arsenal rebuffed their proposal. PSG also kept an eye on him, while other big European clubs, like Barcelona, had him on their shortlists too, but Arsenal and Mikel Arteta were never going to let him go. They liked what they saw from him in Ligue 1 last season (as did France coach Didier Deschamps, who called him up to the senior side in March) and Saliba’s potential was too good to lose.
In the end, it only took a few training sessions for everyone at Arsenal to realise what a gem they had. Quietly, but impressively, he is establishing his place in the team and comparisons with Virgil van Dijk are in full flow before Liverpool arrive at the Emirates on Sunday.
Saliba’s stats so far are frightening. Against Tottenham and Harry Kane last weekend, no opponent completed a dribble against him. He recovered the ball 11 times, which is more than any other defender in a single game this season. He made six passes into the final third, won five duels and made three clearances, while also being a threat on set pieces and even nutmegging Spurs midfielder Oliver Skipp.
