Saliba makes history on 100th PL appearance

William Saliba hit a century of Premier League appearances against Newcastle United on Sunday, and created a piece of Arsenal history in the process.

The Frenchman made his debut for us against Crystal Palace on the opening day of the 2022/23 campaign, and has gone on to win 68 times on his way to becoming our 71st Premier League centurion.

And that number has seen him join Sol Campbell and Lauren at the top of the list when it comes to most wins achieved during their first 100 league games for us across our 138-year history:

On that night at Selhurst Park three years ago, William kept a clean sheet, and it would be the first of many. No player in the division has kept more than him since his Premier League bow, and only 81 have been conceded in that time, meaning we only concede on average every 109 minutes that William is on the field - another divisional high across the past three seasons.

As we look to lock in a third second-place finish in succession during the Frenchman’s tenure in our team, only his usual central defensive partner Gabriel has achieved more Premier League victories during that time, while he ranks fourth on our list for best win ratios in the competition:

William also recorded a niche club stat against the Magpies. All 100 of his league games so far have come as a starter, meaning he has become the first outfielder to achieve a century since his fellow countryman William Gallas, who reached 101 in total.