William Saliba will be looking to break into the Arsenal starting XI as he returns from his highly successful season-long loan at Marseille.
The 20-year-old was named the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year after putting in a string of excellent performances as Marseille finished second in the French top tier behind runaway champions Paris Saint-Germain. Saliba made 52 appearances across all competitions and became a firm fans' favourite at Les Phoceens.
He was also rewarded with a place in the Ligue 1 Team of the Season for his efforts alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos. After a mixed loan spell at Nice during the 2020/21 season, Saliba needed a much-improved stint out with Marseille to impress Mikel Arteta, and he did just that.
In actual fact, Saliba broke the record for the most-ever passes in a season in the history of Ligue 1, completing a staggering 2834. Marquinhos (2231) and Boubakar Kamara (2204) were second and third respectively in terms of passes made during the 2021/22 season.
Further, Saliba won possession back the most times out of the entire division (260) and made a league-high 558 progressive carries. The centre-back would often regain the ball and drive into midfield, which started off attacks and ensured Marseille could progress the ball further up the field. This was also added by 31 successful dribbles - no other central defender accumulated more in Ligue 1.
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His defensive numbers were also impeccable with Saliba averaging 1.5 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 2.2 clearances per game - the most out of his Marseille teammates. The French club conceded the third-fewest number of goals in the division and let in just two less than table toppers PSG.
With Saliba set to return to Arsenal this summer, Arteta must surely have been impressed by what he saw from the defender over the course of the season. The Gunners allowed Callum Chambers to join Aston Villa in January and could do with adding another centre-back to their ranks with Gabriel, Ben White and Rob Holding their only current recognised senior players in that position, as Pablo Mari joined Udinese on loan in January.
He could be handed an opportunity in pre-season to force himself into Arteta's plans for the upcoming campaign with Arsenal set to play more matches next term. They will compete in the Europa League after missing out on Champions League football on the final day to North London rivals Tottenham.
