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William Saliba has committed his future to Arsenal by signing a new five-year contract, cementing his place as a key figure in Mikel Arteta's defensive plans. However, it wasn't always smooth sailing for the centre-back in north London.
Upon joining the Gunners in 2019, Saliba didn't immediately find his footing in the team. In fact, it took him three years to make his competitive debut for the club.
Initially signed by Unai Emery, Saliba was promptly loaned back to Saint-Etienne for the season. Following Emery's dismissal, Arteta took the reins and sent Saliba on another loan spell, this time to Nice, in January.
The decision didn't sit well with the young defender, who voiced his displeasure at the time. Reflecting on the situation in 2021, Saliba said: "The coach immediately told me that I was not ready. I would have at least liked to have had a chance to rediscover my rhythm. But this is football; it's like that."
After a third loan stint at Marseille, some fans began to question whether Saliba would ever be the solution to Arsenal's defensive issues. However, one person never lost faith in him - the very person who had encouraged his development away from north London.
In all of Saliba's loan agreements, there were no clauses allowing or requiring a permanent transfer. This strongly suggests that Arteta always saw the Frenchman as a crucial part of his long-term vision for the club.
Looking back, Arteta practically admitted this during Saliba's initial loan stint at Saint-Etienne.
In 2020, the Spanish manager explained: "For many reasons, that wasn't the transition year that he needed because he had a lot of injuries, some personal injuries and also with COVID and the French league getting cancelled, he didn't have that year.
"He needs that year of transition and we are trying to make the right decisions for him to give him the best transitional year for him to have the player we want in our future."
Whilst this transitional period ultimately stretched to three years, Saliba has emerged as one of Arsenal's most accomplished centre-backs in recent memory.
His defensive partnership alongside Gabriel proved remarkably effective last season, with the pair helping limit opponents to just 29 goals across the entire Premier League campaign.
Individually, Saliba's importance to the team becomes crystal clear when examining the statistics; across the 15 matches Arsenal have played without the Frenchman since his August 2022 debut, they've shipped more shots and goals whilst managing just a 46.7% victory rate compared to 67.3% when he features.
Having now secured his services until 2030, the defender appears more comfortable than ever in north London - a stark contrast to his nomadic loan spells of recent years.
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