Player Profile
- Name
- William Saliba
- Squad number
- 2
- Born
- March 24, 2001/Bondy, France
- Previous clubs
- Saint-Etienne, Nice (loan)
France international William continued to establish himself as one of the best centre backs in England during his second season of first-team action. The elegant, pacey centre back became the first Arsenal outfield player in the Premier League era, and the first since Lee Dixon in 1989/90, to play every minute of the league season, and he was a cornerstone of the PL’s meanest defence – he won possession 213 times, more than any other centre back in the league.
William made his long-awaited debut in 2022/23 after initially signing in July 2019 and impressed from the start, underpinning the Gunners’ title challenge until suffering a season-ending back injury in March 2023. He made his breakthrough at Saint-Etienne, where he remained on loan after signing for us and reached the French Cup final before spending half of 2020/21 on loan at Nice.
He joined Marseille on loan the following season and helped the club to second place during a campaign in which he was named the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year, earned a spot in the league’s Team of the Year and made his senior international debut. He featured for France at the 2022 World Cup and made six appearances as France reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
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