A model of solid and classy consistency at the back for Arsenal, William Saliba was a cornerstone of their title success in 2025/26. It has brought him a Ballon d’Or nomination, his second.

It is January 2022 and a 19-year-old William Saliba has just put in another defensive masterclass for Marseille.

Word of his performance reaches Arsenal supporters across the channel and they take to social media to air their frustrations.

The Gunners signed Saliba from St Etienne in the summer of 2019, agreeing that the youngster should remain with Les Verts for another season to gain more experience.

On officially joining his new club a year later he was an unused sub in the Community Shield before being overlooked for a squad number. Soon after, he was loaned out again, this time to Nice where a series of outstanding displays reportedly had Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta reappraise his judgement that the teenager wasn’t quite ready yet for the Premier League.

Imagine the chagrin therefore of the Gunners’ supporter base when the centre-back was then loaned out for a third time, to Marseille.

It was felt at the time by the Arsenal hierarchy that Saliba had indeed accrued sufficient experience, but now needed to bulk up a little before being introduced to English football.

Which brings us to January 2022 and an imperious display that prompted Montpellier striker Stephy Mavididi – now at Leicester City – to publicly air his thoughts on the defender to LiveScore.

Pertinently, Mavididi is a self-avowed Arsenal fan.

“That guy’s a player. He’s hands down one of the best defenders in the league”

“I think he’ll walk into the Arsenal team next season. When I played against him last year I thought ‘how is this guy not playing at Arsenal?’

“He’s strong, good on the ball, he reads the game well. Sometimes you walk off the pitch and think ‘fair play man, respect’ – the defender has kept up with you, out tussled you, out quitted you, you have to say fair play, this guy’s a good player. He’s one of the best centre-backs I’ve faced”

William Saliba made his full Arsenal debut that August, his contribution to a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace described by the BBC as ‘unruffled and virtually faultless’.

At the end of his inaugural season he was included in the PFA Team of the Year, an honour he has replicated every season since.

In 2025/26, he was the classy cornerstone to a league title success, the Gunners’ first for two decades. His performances across that campaign have now brought him a second Ballon d’Or nomination.

It is a stretch of course to suggest that the words of a fellow professional helped Arsenal realise what a gem they had in their employment.

They knew that already. Mikel Arteta knew that already.

Yet what Mavididi’s words did achieve was to add further noise to a conversation Arsenal could no longer ignore.