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William Saliba has to be one of the best center backs in the world. Saying that a few seasons might have been controversial, but nowadays, you don't know ball if you don't recognize Saliba as among the world's elite.
Known as Arsenal's Rolls Royce defender, Saliba is coolness personified. He's composed, has incredible football intelligence, and is more than able to protect David Raya in one-on-one defensive situations.
It took him a while to break into the Arsenal team after he was signed, but ever since giving him a chance, Mikel Arteta has never looked back. Now, William Saliba is Arsenal through and through.
William Saliba just made his thoughts on Mikel Arteta crystal clear
As revealed earlier today, William Saliba will now commit his future to Arsenal. A long-term deal is expected to be signed in the coming days.
Say what you want about Mikel Arteta - he certainly gets his fair share of stick from fans and the English media - but this is further proof that the Arsenal players love him. And outside opinions do not matter; it's the in-house perception that matters the most.
Think about it. William Saliba could have signed for Real Madrid - Los Blancos wanted him, that was known, and even relayed by David Ornstein: "Saliba had been the subject of interest from Real Madrid, but said in March he was happy at Arsenal and wanted to win trophies with the north London club."
When William Saliba chooses Arsenal over Real Madrid, you know something special is being cooked by the chef behind the scenes.
At Real Madrid, William Saliba has a fast track pass to win it all. At Arsenal, he has to buy in and be part of a collective effort to climb from rags to riches. Saliba prefers the latter, and that says everything you need to know about his mentality.
In many ways, we shouldn't be surprised. We can all see how much Mikel Arteta cares about his players, and most importantly, cares about this club. He would fight tooth and nail just to get three points, rather than one point. That's the kind of guy he is, and it's the reason why he was Arsenal's captain for many years.
The English media is always critical. It's just what they do best, unfortunately. However, let it be known that William Saliba's stance on Mikel Arteta is crystal clear: He's a manager worth playing under, even when the biggest club in the world is knocking for you.