William Saliba broke an impressive Ligue 1 record last season as he recorded the most passes ever in a top-flight campaign (2,834).
Saliba was awarded the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Season award following a stellar 2021/22 campaign in France. The 21-year-old has played nearly every minute of the league season for Les Olympiens, keeping 13 clean sheets over 36 appearances. He helped the side finish second in Ligue 1.
The Frenchman's displays earned him a senior national team call-up, too, making two appearances for Les Bleus back in March and he was included in the latest squad for UEFA Nations League fixtures. It's no small feat, with the loan move working wonders for his progression.
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In what was such an impressive campaign, Saliba led many of Ligue 1's stats. As seen on Reddit, he won the most possessions (260), had the most progressive carries (558) and had 31 successful dribbles at centre-back, the most for the position. The biggest stat, however, was the fact he completed the most ever passes in a Ligue 1 campaign.
With Mikel Arteta keen to play progressively, by starting at the back and moving forward, it's imperative that his centre-halves are ball-playing defenders. Saliba has demonstrated that he falls into that category, which could see him involved for the Gunners next campaign.
There were strong suggestions that he could return to Marseille but the defender has now put those rumours to bed. Speaking with Julien Maynard on French television programme Telefoot, the 21-year-old said: "I belong to Arsenal. I still have two years left. I will be back with Arsenal. I have played zero matches, and I still want to show them my true face and have the chance to play for these fans and this great club."
Saliba admits he'll return to Arsenal
It's great news for Arsenal fans who were worried that they'd never get to see the Frenchman in red and white. Now, he'll be focused on achieving whatever he can with the Gunners in the future.
