William Saliba is yet to play any game for Arsenal but, more than a year after he signed a contract with the gunners, the French defender arrives at the club with huge expectations.
Saliba completed a £27m transfer move to the Emirates last July but he agreed to spend another campaign with St Etienne before moving to London.
Though he is still a teenager, fans are hopeful that the central defender can solve Arsenal’s defensive issues at the back, which was evident before Mikel Arteta became manager.
The 19-year-old joined the club with plenty of promise and Arteta’s side were not the only team that was interested in signing the defender.
Tottenham’s were interested in the player and the Frenchman had to choose between Spurs and Arsenal last summer, only to join the gunners.
But, according to the Telegraph Saliba was approached by Manchester United in the January window of 2019 and the Red Devils made a good offer to sign him.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had just become manager at Old Trafford but he had identified the defence as an area of huge priority, which led to the £80m signing of Harry Maguire from Leicester last summer.
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Saliba was flattered by Manchester United’s interest but he was focused on Arsenal given that the club had long tracked him and had presented a more concrete proposal.
In addition, Saliba is a boyhood Arsenal supporter and he’s long dreamed playing for the club. He could now be joined by Lille star Gabriel in the coming days as the player was in London on Monday to complete his medical.
Arsenal have seen off competition from the likes of Manchester United, Napoli and Everton for the 22-year-old centre-back.
