Former Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny has been discussing William Saliba, and it’s fair to say he is a huge fan.
Back in September, Saliba signed a new Arsenal contract, tying his future to the North London club until the summer of 2030.
Saliba has become outstanding under Mikel Arteta and is now undoubtedly one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
Following a great start to the new campaign for Saliba and Arsenal, Laurent Koscielny has been giving his thoughts on the 24-year-old.
Laurent Koscielny is a huge fan of William Saliba
Koscielny has admitted he was shocked when William Saliba kept being loaned out by Arsenal in the early stages of his career at the Emirates Stadium.
The French national team defender signed for the North London club whilst Koscielny was still playing there, and he couldn’t understand why he kept being sent on loan by Mikel Arteta.
After signing for the Gunners, Saliba went out on three different loan spells, rejoining Saint-Etienne, then Nice and Marseille.
The 24-year-old finally hit his stride at the Stade Velodrome, and after a year at Marseille, he returned to North London ready to play first-team action.
Recalling the early stages of Saliba’s Arsenal career, Koscielny told Footallogue: “For me, he is a top player! When he was bought by Arsenal, I was still an Arsenal player. He was bought from Saint Etienne, then loaned out again.
“He would come from time to time to train with our coaches (at Arsenal) and also to see a little bit of the environment.
“In the following years, he was actually loaned out to Nice, and he was loaned out to Marseille. So we ask ourselves, why is he loaned out?
“But each time he played full seasons, each time he performed well, and the day he got his chance at Arsenal, he was ready to perform for the club.
“He was ready to perform in the Premier League, which is tough for defenders. Today, all the work that has been put in place is being rewarded.”
What Mikel Arteta said about loaning out William Saliba in 2020
After returning from a loan spell back at Saint-Etienne in the summer of 2020, Saliba spent half the season with the Gunners.
However, Arteta grew frustrated with his situation and insisted that he needed to spend more time away from the club on loan to develop.
“I am fed up with the situation because, as you could see, we tried to find a way in the last few days (of the transfer window) to give him some football,” Arteta told the media in November 2020.
“I explained that he needed that transition year when we decided to buy him and send him on loan to Saint-Etienne, for many reasons that didn’t happen, he didn’t have that transition year, and he needs to go through that.”
At the time, Arteta’s decision to keep sending him on loan was questioned, but in truth, it turned out to be the best move for his career.
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