Mikel Arteta joked that he would have been facing a fan revolt had he not given William Saliba his chance at Arsenal.
Signed for £27million in 2019, the French central defender was made to wait three years before finally making his Premier League debut at the start of this season. At that point, it was unclear whether Saliba would ever make the grade in north London, with Arteta the toughest of taskmasters.
The Gunners boss arrived in the dugout months after Saliba signed from Saint Etienne and after Covid-19 affected his season back with the Ligue 1 club, Arteta left him out of his squad for the 2020/21 season.
