When William Saliba signed his new contract with us at the end of September, he immediately followed it up by playing his part in seven consecutive clean sheets, spending more than eight hours on the pitch without conceding.
But the Frenchman’s form this season comes as no surprise to anyone who has watched him in action since he made his Gunners debut back in 2022. He has been the model of consistency since then, making 150 first-team appearances and being named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Season in each of his three campaigns so far.
But although his impact as soon as he made his debut was immediate, that’s not to say William’s Arsenal story is one of overnight success.
After signing from St Etienne, aged 18, in 2019, he was loaned back to the Ligue 1 side for the whole of that season. He played a pre-season friendly for us after returning in summer 2020, and was on the bench for our Community Shield win over Liverpool behind closed doors at Wembley.
A few months later he was sent back on loan to France, this time with Nice. He was back in France the following season (2021/22) with Marseille, where he sparkled. He made more than 50 appearances and was named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Season.
But then, finally, it was time for William – by now aged 21 – to make his Gunners debut, and begin his Arsenal career in earnest.
After playing a full part in pre-season, he was named alongside Gabriel in the centre of defence to face Crystal Palace away on the opening day of the 2022/23 season, with Ben White shifted across to right-back. He’s been an integral part of the side ever since, but he admits that until that time, he had doubts that his Arsenal dream would ever be fulfilled.
“Yeah, of course,” he begins. “I had some doubts because when you go on loan two or three times, you think maybe it's not here that I will play. But it's like this, in football you have some doubts sometimes, but you have to make sure you forget your doubts and you move forward, and that’s what I did.
“So I went on loan, I kept going to improve. Then I came back here stronger. When I came back I played almost every game. When you have a new career, you have to adapt because you will have some moments where things won't go how you want. So you have to adapt and of course you have to be strong mentally to be prepared for anything.”
William, as we will get onto, says he is completely settled into life in London now, especially since signing his long-term contract. But it’s a far cry from those first few years at the club as a teenager. “It was a bit hard because I arrived from France, then went back on loan, then six months after I came back here, I went back to France again.
"Six months there, then I changed club, then I came back here. So it was difficult. I was living in a hotel when I came here at first, then I found a house but went back to France, so when I came back after that I wanted to settle down quickly. Since I’ve been back from my loans I’ve been in the same place, so it’s all good now, I’m very happy.”
That feeling of contentment off the pitch, he says, has directly impacted his form on it. It’s allowed him to focus on nothing more than just his football, and whatever the next challenge may be: “Of course, it's good when you're settled. You know that the next year you will be there, you know what the future is and you can plan every day.”
In many ways, it was a far from ideal first few years at the club, but now looking back on that time more than six years on, he believes that it was all for the best, and that his current status within world football could be very different had he been exposed to Premier League football much earlier.
“I agree," he smiles. "It was meant to be like this, so I had to accept it. Now everything is behind me and I don't regret anything because it was meant to be. It worked out so well. The story has been good because I think had I been here from the start and playing, it would have been different. So now I'm happy.
“Every year you learn something new,” he continues. “If the football is not going well, you have to deal with that. Things change quickly in both ways. You can be down and move up quickly, or you can be up and move down quickly. So you have to stay focused, work every day and have a good mentality.”
His patience was finally rewarded when he made his debut in that 2-0 win over Palace at Selhurst Park in August 2022, and he says that everything he’s achieved since then can be traced back to that day.
“It felt great to finally be on the pitch for Arsenal,” says William, who won nine of his first 10 games for us. “You appreciate this moment because the previous year – you have some doubts about whether you will make it or not. But now you are playing well, you are starting for Arsenal and the team is doing well as well. So everything comes together and you just enjoy it and want to play every game.
“In my next away game I scored against Bournemouth, and that’s a great memory too it's the first time I’ve had a song with my name from the fans. It was a great time because it was like my third game with Arsenal, we were in good shape. We were winning games and I was doing well, so, yeah, it was a good time, a really good time.”
The good times have continued as his stature and experience have grown in European football. He’s built an incredible partnership with Big Gabi over the past few years, and we’ve had the best defensive record in the Premier League in each of the past two seasons.
This year the defence looks to be even meaner. We set a club record for most consecutive clean sheets earlier this year, and didn’t even concede so much as a shot on target in back-to-back Premier League games in October.
“I think the mentality has changed,” our No. 2 says. “When I arrived, we were good defensively, but we have definitely improved every year. That's the mentality. Every defender who steps up, who arrives at this club, is good.
"They just click quickly because we are all good and we all understand each other. When we play with good players, it's easier, but we are lucky to have good defenders, good midfielders, and as well our forwards who help us to defend as well.
"It’s not easy, you have to pick the right players and I think the board and the people at the club have done a good job to sign some good defenders and good players.”
And the really good news is that we will be seeing William doing his stuff in an Arsenal shirt for a long time to come yet.
Now aged 24, he signed a new long-term contract with us at the end of September, ending any speculation about his future. So why did the 31-cap France international believe the time was right to put pen to paper?
“Because everything was complete for me. We have a good team, we have a good coach, we have good staff. And I'm sure that the future here will be very good, so there was no hesitation to extend my contract with Arsenal.
“I spoke with my agent and with the coach as well, but it was more on me than anyone else,” he explains. “I had to think by myself and to be honest it was easy because I knew that I wanted to stay here and achieve great things. So for me it was an easy decision.
"Of course it can be a bit of a headache when you still haven't signed your extension and people are talking, so when you sign, afterwards you are much more chilled, you can be more focused on your football.”
The defender adds that he didn’t need to be convinced of anything, as he already feels completely at home: “No, I didn't ask any questions like that for the boss. We just talked, he told me that he wanted me to stay here, he asked me if I wanted to stay, I said of course I wanted to stay. I didn't need to talk about the future because I can see that we have a good future here and the team is getting better every year.
“Anyway, I don’t need to hear any words like that, because I can feel it for myself. As long as I feel the love from the coach, from the supporters and from the club, then that’s what I want. So I just want to enjoy it. I know they wanted me to stay and I feel at home as well. I love London, I love Arsenal as well – that’s it.”
William lives just outside the capital, near the training ground in Hertfordshire, but says he loves London life. He explores the city whenever he gets the chance. “When I have some free time or during the weekend after we win games, I go out to have some dinner with some friends. So yeah, of course I go into London, but not often. I go with my friends from France who come over to visit me. They will stay over at my house and we go out to eat together and things like that.
“I think the city is really good, the city is beautiful. For me, it's safe to live here and I feel at home because London is quite similar to Paris for me. I feel at home and it's close to Paris anyway.
“I like the city, but I live a bit further out to be nearer to the training ground. I prefer to be in London, but it's good to be where I live as well because it’s nice and quiet, it’s good to get to training.
"But I think I am a city guy. My favourite thing to do is go to central London for dinner, because for me at night-time London is beautiful.
“I like to go to Mayfair, British food is good but I prefer French food mostly – and that’s what my friends like when they come over!”
By the end of this current contract the boy from Bondy, in the north-east of Paris, will have been living in this country longer than he did in France, so does he feel more suited to the British way of life now?
“Haha yeah of course, now I'm a bit English!” he laughs “I'm more English than before and I think every year I'm getting better with the language too, so everything is good!”