Arsenal Transfers: Grading all 6 summer purchases

4. William Saliba — A

I often forget that this move happened, simply because of all the moves that it’s sandwiched between and, obviously, because he isn’t at the club yet. But the move is truly brilliant because we don’t have to pay for him yet. We don’t have to pay until next season, when he will actually join us. So we lose nothing, and gain everything.

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Of course, if this deal and the Pepe deal combine and don’t create Champions League football, we may be financially strapped next season, but hey, at least we will be getting Saliba, right?

The thing with this move is that while we absolutely needed immediate defensive help, we also needed long-term help. Unlike the attack, there isn’t a lot going on in our defensive youth ranks. Zech Medley has flirted with the first team, but he is just one person. Krystian Bielik is gone. Dinos Mavropanos is… I don’t even know.

We needed someone who could potentially take the reigns for the long term, someone to play next to Rob Holding and be that next big deal, and Saliba provides that. He is tremendously talented and has all the fixings we would want our future centerback stalwart to have.

The only reason this one didn’t get an A+ is, well, because we don’t get him this year. But maybe that is for the best anyway.

Next up, big money.