William Saliba compared to Real Madrid star Raphael Varane

The Arsenal defender has spent the season on loan at former club Saint Etienne after completing a move to the Emirates Stadium last summer



William Saliba in action for Saint-Etienne




William Saliba will arrive at Arsenal in the summer, one year after signing for the club.





The defender was a target for a number of clubs in the summer of 2019 with the Gunners winning the race for the teenager and completing a deal worth in the region of £27 million.

The agreement also meant that the youngster returned to his former club Saint Etienne on loan for the 2019/20 campaign.


After an injury-hit start to the season, Saliba has played 17 games in all competitions impressing in the centre-back role for the French club.









His performances have led to excitement around his return to the Emirates Stadium among Arsenal fans, and an insight from the defender’s former youth coach will cause even more excitement.

“ William will go far, very far. He reminds me of Raphaël Varane,” Fabio Frasconi, Saliba’s U12 and U13 coach, told Saint Etienne’s website.

“As a kid, he was already above the lot, technically clean, comfortable with the ball. “I had positioned him at the centre forward position. Evolving then in central defence would not have allowed him, in my opinion, to progress. I feel enormous pride when I see him playing at this level, with this composure, this maturity, this accuracy, this sense of anticipation and this application.”

But, according to Frasconi, it is not only natural talent that will see the youngster make a success of himself at Arsenal.

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“I have never seen a kid have such a desire to succeed. He wanted, from an early age, to be a professional footballer, already hated defeat, transcended himself. When the opponent was superior, he knew how to give himself, showing the example for the good of the team. How many times he changed the course of a match!

“Between us, moreover, it goes far beyond the simple educator-player relationship. A real relationship of trust has been established. I made him understand that education was important, that it had to be structured, to be attentive to his diet if he intended to go the course.”

When Saliba will fully return to the Emirates, given the situation with leagues being suspended around the world, is still not clear. But the teenager will be available for Mikel Arteta in time for the 2020/21 season.