‘Mikel will tell you’: Fabregas hails importance of £190k-a-week Arsenal ace

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Former Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas has hailed the importance of William Saliba to the north London club.

William Saliba is certainly a crucial member of Mikel Arteta’s first team Arsenal squad. The 22-year-old centre-back has been a revelation for the north London club since making his debut for them at the start of last season. 

Saliba had to wait a long time before getting his chance to shine for the Gunners. Arsenal originally paid £27 million to secure the services of the young Frenchman in the summer of 2019. However, loan spells with Saint-Etienne, Nice, and Marseille delayed his Arsenal bow by three seasons.

The Emirates Stadium faithful will now consider Saliba to have been worth the wait. He developed extensively during his loan stints away from the club, and is now one of the standout centre-backs in the Premier League. The 10-cap France international has also signed a new long-term contract with the Gunners.

Arteta’s only concern as far the player is concerned will be to do with keeping him fit. When the defender sustained an injury towards the end of last season, his absence was one of the catalysts for the club’s Premier League title challenge falling apart. 

Fabregas highlights Saliba influence

If they can keep Saliba fit and available throughout this campaign, then Arsenal stand an excellent chance of going one better than their second-place finish of last season.

Cesc Fabregas certainly believes that Saliba is that important to Arsenal. The former midfielder, who made 303 appearances for the Gunners between 2003 and 2011, sees Saliba as being vital to how Arteta sets his side up tactically. 

Speaking to The Mirror, the Spaniard said, “Arsenal use that 3-1-3-3 formation – which is six players in front of the ball. It’s about the coach trusting their defenders to be quicker, faster and recover the ball. Then they can play a little bit more attacking football.”

“But you could see the difference when Saliba was playing and got injured [last season]. Mikel will tell you himself that it’s not the same way they can play.”

The £190,000-a-week ace’s pace and power are two of his major strengths, and the security they offer allows Arsenal to play with a high defensive line. There is no other player in the Arsenal squad who can do exactly what Saliba does.