Arsenal: At long, long last, William Saliba makes sense

Details about Arsenal’s deal for William Saliba are finally coming out and, at long last, the move makes sense and doesn’t leave me vexed.

All summer, I’ve been perplexed as to why William Saliba would be such a priority for Arsenal when they wouldn’t even be getting his services until next season. With such a limited budget, spending over half of it on a player for the future, who couldn’t be more for the future, made little sense.

It’s not that he wasn’t a player that I would love to have on this team. When early rumors came out, I was full of praise for young Saliba, who has been a revelation since breaking through earlier this season.

For an 18-year-old, you can’t do much better. But for the sake of fixing the defense in the here and now, it did nothing. And that’s where I drew the issue.

Apparently, the deal is a bit different than initially reported. Now it’s said that while William Saliba will cost £25m, that fee won’t be paid until he joins the club next year. Meaning that we lose nothing by agreeing to this deal now.

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So it literally means nothing right now. It’s not a solution, but it’s not a detraction either. And that leaves absolutely no reason to be opposed to it.

What this shapes up as, then, is an investment in the future of Unai Emery’s era. It’s a statement of confidence, that this year will do what’s needed to prolong Emery’s stay and that nothing can change that. This is an Emery man, and it wouldn’t be quite right to deprive him of the opportunity to utilize him.

But it’s also a statement to the current youngsters in this defense. They see this newer, younger, flashier signing coming in to the fray and know that they have just one more year to prove themselves before there’s another cook in the kitchen.

That puts Krystian Bielik (if he stays), Dinos Mavropanos and Rob Holding on their guard. It may also spare Emery from having to invest too much at centerback, putting faith in the future rather than in the present. It’s a sacrifice, but one that we won’t understand until the transfer window closes.

It’s smart. Like I said, there’s no reason not to love it. Don’t lose sight of the future just because you’re trying so hard to fix the present.