William Saliba
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Alain André Gabriel Saliba[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 24 March 2001[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Bondy, France | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Arsenal | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2014 | AS Bondy | ||
| 2014–2016 | FC Montfermeil | ||
| 2016–2018 | Saint-Étienne | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018 | Saint-Étienne II | 3 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Saint-Étienne | 16 | (0) |
| 2019– | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → Saint-Étienne (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | France U16 | 7 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | France U17 | 6 | (2) |
| 2018 | France U18 | 5 | (1) |
| 2018 | France U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2019– | France U20 | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:38, 8 March 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 March 2019 | |||
William Alain André Gabriel Saliba (born 24 March 2001) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Arsenal.[3]
Club career
Saint-Étienne
Saliba began playing football at the age of 6, coached by the father of Kylian Mbappé. He moved to Saint-Étienne in 2016.[4] He signed his first contract at the age of 17, on 30 May 2018.[5] Saliba made his professional debut with Saint-Étienne in a 3–2 Ligue 1 win over Toulouse on 25 September 2018.[6] He made 13 starting appearances for the first season at Saint-Étienne.[7]
Arsenal
On 25 July 2019, Arsenal announced that Saliba had signed a "long-term" contract with the club, and would join up with the team after staying on loan at Saint-Étienne for the 2019–20 season.[7] Media reported a contract duration of five years and that the transfer fee paid to Saint-Étienne amounted to £27 million.[8] Arsenal faced competition from rivals Tottenham Hotspur to complete the deal, with both clubs meeting Saint-Étienne's valuation of the player, however, Saliba chose to join Arsenal, with the club's interest in Saliba dating back to autumn of 2018.[9]
Saint-Étienne (loan)
Saliba re-joined Saint-Étienne on loan for the beginning of the 2019–20 Ligue 1 campaign, as part of the transfer with Arsenal.[7] On 15 July 2020, it was confirmed by manager Claude Puel that Saliba would miss the upcoming Coupe de France cup final on 24 July and would end his loan at Saint-Étienne.[10]
Return to Arsenal
Upon his return to Arsenal, Saliba was handed the number 4 shirt, previously worn by club legend Patrick Vieira. [11][12]
Personal life
Born in France, Saliba is of Cameroonian descent.[13]
References
- ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- ^ a b "William Saliba: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ William Saliba at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ Faure, Anthony; Detout, Arnaud (27 September 2018). "Ligue 1 : William Saliba, un Bondynois sur les traces de Mbappé". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ @ASSEofficiel. "William Saliba passe professionnel".
- ^ "Toulouse FC - AS Saint-Etienne (2-3) - Saison 2018/2019 - Ligue 1 Conforama". www.lfp.fr.
- ^ a b c "#SalibaSigns: Saliba to join the club". Arsenal F.C. Official Website. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ Cohen, Sonny (25 July 2019). "Arsenal sign Madrid's Ceballos on loan and £27m St Etienne defender Saliba". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "Dani Ceballos and William Saliba sign for Arsenal". BBC Sport. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "Arsenal and Saint-Étienne fail to reach William Saliba agreement". Onefootball. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ https://metro.co.uk/2020/07/23/future-captain-william-saliba-given-legendary-arsenal-shirt-number-13027190/
- ^ https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/arsenal-shirt-numbers-2021-saliba-4-saka-7-elneny-ceballos-a4506466.html
- ^ Jacob, Gary (25 July 2019). "William Saliba: The promising teenager coached by Kylian Mbappé's father". The Times. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
External links
- {{FFF male player}} template missing ID.
- William Saliba – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
  | This biographical article related to association football in France, about a defender, is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 2001 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Bondy
- French footballers
- France youth international footballers
- French people of Cameroonian descent
- Association football defenders
- Ligue 1 players
- Championnat National 2 players
- Championnat National 3 players
- AS Saint-Étienne players
- Arsenal F.C. players
- French expatriate sportspeople in England
- Expatriate footballers in England
- French football defender stubs