Watch: William Saliba showcases great composure during Arsenal win

Arsenal defender William Saliba did his chances of first-team football no harm with an impressive performance in their pre-season win over Everton. 

Saliba joined the Gunners from Saint Etienne for a reported £27million in 2019 but is yet to make his competitive first-team debut for the club. 

The centre-back remained at Saint Etienne for the 2019-20 season and has spent the last 18 months on loan at Nice and Marseille. 

He won plenty of plaudits during his time at Marseille and was even named Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Year in 2021-22.

“I had a good season last season,” Saliba told Arsenal’s official website. “We finished second in the table and I had some good moments and learned a lot, and I hope this season will be better than that.

“I was very proud [to win the Young Player of the Year award] because the league has a lot of good young players, so it’s good for me but I want more.”

Despite being linked with a permanent move to the Ligue 1 side, Saliba looks set to stay at Arsenal and will compete for a starting berth with Ben White, Gabriel and Rob Holding.

The France international started alongside Gabriel against Everton and helped nullify the threat of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

During the second half, Saliba won the ball back on the edge of his own penalty area and then showed great composure to pass to a team-mate.

“He was really good,” Mikel Arteta said after the game. “I think he played a really good game, he looked really composed, straight away from day one he looked completely focussed.

“He’s evolved the way we wanted and today I think he had a great performance.”

William Saliba. 🥶 #afc https://t.co/wZRxoYJx7B

— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 17, 2022

More Arsenal

Watch: Bukayo Saka copies Gabriel Jesus celebration after Arsenal goal

Watch: Gabriel Jesus gets goal and assist for Arsenal in pre-season win