Mikel Arteta credited for handling ‘special’ William Saliba

William Saliba was named Young Player of the Year in Ligue 1 last season.

The French defender was sent out on loan on three several occasions and played his first game on Friday for the first time since his arrival at the Emirates in 2019.

His impressive displays for Marseille led to call-ups to the national team and the club has finally decided to let him stay at Emirates this summer.

He was undoubtedly the best performer against Crystal Palace that night and club legend Ian Wright lauded Mikel Arteta for perfectly handling this superb talent.

Wright said: “Mikel and Edu have got to take a lot of credit for what they’ve done with this guy.

“This guy is someone we’ve always thought would be special. Even when they sent him out on loan there were fans calling for him to come back. He’s a full international now, he looks composed, calm, he’s got great pace.

“It’s a decision that was magnificent from Arsenal. It would have been easy to bring him back last year but they gave him the extra season and now he looks like he’s been playing in that position for years.

“At 21, to go to Crystal Palace for the first game of the season and play like that… you don’t want to get carried away but that’s some performance.”

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