It was a cold, rainy afternoon in Montpellier when Arsenal first became serious about William Saliba. This was 2019, before the scouts, agents and rival clubs would descend en masse. He was playing for Saint-Étienne’s under-19s and Ty Gooden, then Arsenal’s France scout, had alerted them to the raw yet impressive 6ft 4in 18-year-old working his way through the ranks. His insistence had brought Francis Cagigao, then the club’s head of scouting, to the south of France.
Cagigao and Gooden initially had their eye on another centre-half at Saint-Étienne, a year older and already in the first team. He will also be playing on Sunday at Stamford Bridge, against Saliba. Indeed, the older centre-half would eventually command a £70m transfer fee. However, it was Saliba’s extraordinary speed and presence that attracted the Arsenal duo over Wesley Fofana.
