William Saliba

William Alain André Gabriel Saliba (born 24 March 2001) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Arsenal.[3]

William Saliba
Personal information
Full name William Alain André Gabriel Saliba[1]
Date of birth (2001-03-24) 24 March 2001[2]
Place of birth Bondy, France
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 4
Youth career
2008–2014 AS Bondy
2014–2016 FC Montfermeil
2016–2018 Saint-Étienne
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018 Saint-Étienne II 3 (0)
2018–2019 Saint-Étienne 16 (0)
2019– Arsenal 0 (0)
2019–2020 → Saint-Étienne (loan) 12 (0)
National team‡
2017 France U16 7 (1)
2017–2018 France U17 6 (2)
2018 France U18 5 (1)
2018 France U19 3 (0)
2019– France U20 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:38, 8 March 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 March 2019

Club career

Saint-Étienne

Saliba began playing football at the age of 6, coached by the father of Kylian Mbappé. He moved to Saint-Étienne in 2016.[4] He signed his first contract at the age of 17, on 30 May 2018.[5] Saliba made his professional debut with Saint-Étienne in a 3–2 Ligue 1 win over Toulouse on 25 September 2018.[6] He made 13 starting appearances for the first season at Saint-Étienne.[7]

Arsenal

On 25 July 2019, Arsenal announced that Saliba had signed a "long-term" contract with the club, and would join up with the team after staying on loan at Saint-Étienne for the 2019–20 season.[7] Media reported a contract duration of five years and that the transfer fee paid to Saint-Étienne amounted to £27 million.[8] Arsenal faced competition from rivals Tottenham Hotspur to complete the deal, with both clubs meeting Saint-Étienne's valuation of the player, however, Saliba chose to join Arsenal, with the club's interest in Saliba dating back to autumn of 2018.[9]

Saint-Étienne (loan)

Saliba re-joined Saint-Étienne on loan for the beginning of the 2019–20 Ligue 1 campaign, as part of the transfer with Arsenal.[7] On 15 July 2020, it was confirmed by manager Claude Puel that Saliba would miss the upcoming Coupe de France cup final on 24 July and would end his loan at Saint-Étienne.[10]

Return to Arsenal

Upon his return to Arsenal, Saliba was handed the number 4 shirt, previously worn by club legend Patrick Vieira. [11][12]

Personal life

Born in France, Saliba is of Cameroonian descent.[13]

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References
  1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  2. "William Saliba: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  3. William Saliba at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  4. Faure, Anthony; Detout, Arnaud (27 September 2018). "Ligue 1 : William Saliba, un Bondynois sur les traces de Mbappé". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  5. @ASSEofficiel. "William Saliba passe professionnel".
  6. "Toulouse FC - AS Saint-Etienne (2-3) - Saison 2018/2019 - Ligue 1 Conforama". www.lfp.fr.
  7. "#SalibaSigns: Saliba to join the club". Arsenal F.C. Official Website. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  8. Cohen, Sonny (25 July 2019). "Arsenal sign Madrid's Ceballos on loan and £27m St Etienne defender Saliba". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  9. "Dani Ceballos and William Saliba sign for Arsenal". BBC Sport. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  10. "Arsenal and Saint-Étienne fail to reach William Saliba agreement". Onefootball. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  11. https://metro.co.uk/2020/07/23/future-captain-william-saliba-given-legendary-arsenal-shirt-number-13027190/
  12. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/arsenal-shirt-numbers-2021-saliba-4-saka-7-elneny-ceballos-a4506466.html
  13. Jacob, Gary (25 July 2019). "William Saliba: The promising teenager coached by Kylian Mbappé's father". The Times. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
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