It felt for a long time as though Arsenal and William Saliba were a duo that would simply never work.
The defender was signed three years ago for £27million but has endured a turbulent relationship with Mikel Arteta, leading to the Spaniard effectively telling the defender he was not yet ready to fight for a place in his squad.
Consequently, there were loan moves to Nice and then Marseille last season. The latter stint proved to be a hugely successful move for the 21-year-old; he was a key member of the French side’s core XI and featured in 36 of their 38 league matches.
During that time, he put in an array of top performances, so much so that he was named Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Year at the end of the season. Many Arsenal fans hoped that’d be the ideal platform for him to kick-start his Gunners career and they were comforted by his comments in May, when he confirmed he’d be returning and fighting for a place at the Emirates next season.
"I belong to Arsenal, and I still have two years there," the defender said. "I will be there for pre-season with Arsenal. I have played zero matches with Arsenal and I want to show them what I'm made of and have the chance to play for the supporters and for this big club. In any case, leaving like that would be a shame."
Though Arsenal fans haven't been handed an opportunity to see the best version of the promising young central defender competitively yet, many were impressed by his performance during his Arsenal's pre-season victory in Orlando on Thursday.
Arteta, meanwhile, stated that he was “happy” to have Saliba back in his squad, saying: “We always have a plan, and when we have to execute, that’s a different story. And football is a really funny game, but we are really happy to have him.”
Many are now anticipating the Frenchman could play a big role for Arsenal this season. But just how did his impressive campaign in France compare to performances from other key Gunners defenders last season?
At Arsenal last season, three centre-backs - Benjamin White, Gabriel and Rob Holding - featured in 15 or more Premier League matches, so they can be compared to Saliba. Initially, in terms of basic defensive numbers, Saliba raked second of that quartet in terms of aerial duels won, with only Gabriel (64.2 per cent) bettering his success rate of 61.6 per cent.
None of the group could better the 21-year-old in duels on the floor, though, with his averages in terms of defensive pressures (8.25 per 90) and duels won (70.95 per cent) superior to his peers. Impressively, in terms of the latter, there were only three Ligue 1 defenders who could actually improve on that success rate last season.
Given his 6ft4in frame, Saliba's defensive dominance shouldn’t come as a huge shock, but the same will still prove hugely beneficial as he looks to thrive in the Premier League next season.
Of course, for defenders in an Arteta side, it's just not what they offer without the ball, but also with it that’s key. Again, it’s striking that Saliba was the only defender to have a pass success rate of over 90 per cent from that group despite the fact he averaged a remarkable 84.9 passes per 90.
Gabriel averaged the most on a per-90 basis at Arsenal last season, but this was much lower at 58.9. While he may need a period of time to adjust, as the Premier League is a step up on Ligue 1, all of the above captures that Saliba has every chance of breaking into and maintaining a starting role within the Arsenal starting XI next season.
