William Saliba could be the next Harry Maguire or Virgil Van Dijk for truth’s sake. The French defender who was recently signed by Arsenal from Saint Etienne and was loaned back immediately will play under Claude Paul, the same manager who helped two of Premier League’s most paid defenders rise up the ranks.
Arsenal are looking to man up their defense. Pablo Mari could potentially be Arteta’s first signing for the Gunners and if things go well, the Brazilian can be given a permanent deal in the summer.
By then, Arsenal could also get a trained William Saliba; ready to bleed red. Under Claude Paul, Saliba can have leaps of improvement. The former Leicester City and Southampton manager has a rich history of raising the level of defenders with Harry Maguire and Virgil Van Dijk being a testament.
Saliba has struggled to gain game time due to his injury but is well fit and can soon be in action. And with Claude Paul taking up new managerial role in October, the 18-year-old Arsenal centre-back has a plethora of chances coming his way.
Claude Paul is known for his man to man work with the players especially defenders and his knowledge in this sphere will only benefit Saliba. The Frenchman has a reputation of working with young players and making them HUGE.
I have already mentioned the prominence of Virgil Van Dijk and Harry Maguire because of Claude and as pointed out by French journalist Macky Diong, the manager has started working one-to-one with William Saliba. A sign of glory for Arsenal!
After Saint Etienne’s last league game, Claude stayed back for almost half-an-hour with Saliba sharing with him his bit of experience. Saliba has only featured in 7 games this season and Claude’s interest in the youngster announce few more games.
Imagine the partnership it would make with Arsenal’s heart of the defence being shouldered by Pablo Mari and William Saliba. Delicious, isn’t it!?
