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Arsenal: Grading the 2019 summer signings

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal celebrates scoring the fifth goal during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on September 24, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal celebrates scoring the fifth goal during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on September 24, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal, William Saliba
Saint-Etienne’s French defender William Saliba gestures during the French L1 football match between Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) on October 20, 2019, at the Matmut Atlantique stadium in Bordeaux, southwestern France. (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images) /

William Saliba – A

It may seem odd to give a transfer an ‘A’ grade when the player is yet to kick a ball in the Arsenal red, but when it comes to William Saliba and his outrageous talent and future, exceptions must be made due to the cleverness of the transfer.

Knowing that they would have to loan Saliba back to Saint-Etienne for a year, Arsenal still signed the 18-year-old centre-back for £25 million. They did so because they knew he would be both out of their price range and coveted by far more teams a year later. If they wanted to secure Saliba’s future, they had to do so last summer. And so, recognising his talent, that is precisely what they did.

Since then, Saliba has starred for Saint-Etienne. The French side have won eight games this year. Half of them have come with the Frenchman despite him missing 16 games. In the 11 games he started, Etienne have conceded more than twice on just two occasions, have three of their five clean sheets on the season, and have looked vaguely competitive. Saliba, at 19, has been a regular and positive starter in a top-five European league. And his future is already locked up at Arsenal. That is quite the signing.

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