Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has admitted that William Saliba's impressive performances in training quickly convinced him that the Frenchman was ready for a starring role.
Saliba, 21, was signed by Arteta's predecessor Unai Emery in a £27million deal back in 2019, but the centre-back had to wait three years for his Premier League debut and was farmed out on loan.
After impressing on loan at Marseille last year, fans were clamouring for Saliba to be given his opportunity back at the Emirates. And Arteta has now revealed that he was quickly won over by the defender, who wowed the Gunners boss after just two training sessions.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's meeting with Bournemouth, Arteta said of Saliba: “He had an immediate impact... the first two training sessions that we looked at him and thought: 'There's huge potential here'. His attitude, the way he came in and said: 'I'm going to prove that I'm very good and I deserve to be here'. Without any looking back, or being shy - he was doing it the right way.”
Arteta added: “He took out every question mark that we could have with him and gave us all the reasons to play him.”
Arteta quipped that he always knew that there was likely to be pressure from fans to select Saliba after his breakthrough campaign with Marseille in Ligue 1 - but commended the defender for taking his opportunity with both hands.
“I was 100 per cent sure that I was going to have a lot of pressure externally to give him the opportunity. Then it was the perfect storm and a beautiful relationship started to build.”
Join the debate! How impressed have you been with Saliba this year? Let us know here.
Since making his eagerly anticipated Gunners bow, Saliba has quickly established himself as one of the most influential players in an Arsenal team that has exceeded all expectations this season by challenging for the Premier League crown.
The France international has started every single top-flight game for Arteta's side this season and is currently in discussions with the club hierarchy over a bumper new contract.
Saliba has struck up impressive partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of the Gunners defence, but the duo made headlines last week as tempers flared after Arsenal's win over Leicester.
Arteta insisted that he had no concerns over the incident earlier in the week. He said: “They have a happy marriage! They love playing with each other! But they are really demanding of each other, which is good. Everything is fine.
“I don’t want robots, I want players with feeling, with passion. That they demand more from each other and that they have a chemistry, and those two certainly have that chemistry on and off the field. I love that even when winning, they want each other to do better.”
