DBasia.news – Arsenal successfully defeated their city rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, in the hunt for the 18-year-old defender William Saliba. The player explained the reason for choosing to join Arsenal rather than Spurs.
There are two reasons why Saliba chose Arsenal. First, Saliba is happy with Arsenal’s great history in Europe and also the history of the club which is often reinforced by French players.
“History, club logo. Since I was little, I have watched Arsenal play in the Champions League and so on, then many French players came here. So it helped me to decide (coming to Arsenal),” Saliba said on the club’s official website.
Arsenal bought Saliba for 27 million pounds and tied a five-year contract. But, he will not immediately play at Arsenal in the 2019-20 season because the club lent him during the season at AS Saint-Etienne.
“It’s a great pleasure to join a big English club. For me, this is the biggest club in England, so it’s an easy decision. I don’t think twice about joining this club, so I’m really happy,” Saliba said.
The decision of the 1.9-meter-tall center-back to move to Arsenal matured after talking with Arsenal’s young midfielder from France, Matteo Guendouzi.
“Yes, I have spoken to Matteo. I even met him at Funfair in Paris and that’s when I told him that Arsenal wanted to recruit me! He advised me to come here and explain the situation,” explained Guendouzi.
Saliba has the power to tackle, concentrate, block the ball, and cut the path of the opponent’s ball. He also likes to do solo runs (running from behind when building attacks) forward if possible.
The player born in Bondy, March 24, 2001, could be a valuable asset for Arsenal in the future. On the same day as Arsenal’s success in recruiting Saliba (25/7) night Western Indonesian Time, Arsenal also borrowed Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid.