Speaking on the Seaman Says Podcast, David Seaman has been discussing William Saliba after his remarkable start to this season.
The French defender has been utterly brilliant so far this season. He’s looked every bit a £30m centre-back, and he’s played a huge part in Arsenal’s ascent to the top of the league.
Of course, the centre-back spent the last two seasons out on loan in Ligue 1, but Seaman is of the opinion that those loan spells were transformative for the 21-year-old, claiming that he looks like a totally different player now.
Saliba’s transformation
Seaman was full of praise for the defender.
“The two signings Arsenal made in Jesus and ZInchenko, and then in Saliba as well, and Vieira too. Saliba is like a new signing, he’s a player we didn’t have and he’s come back like a totally different player with a load of experience and he’s playing like he’s been in the Premier League for the past five years,” Seaman said.
Paying off
The decisions to loan Saliba out over the past two years has been widely panned by Arsenal fans, but it’s paying off now.
To be fair, in hindsight, it’s easy to see why the defender was shipped out to get more gametime. After all, he did only join Arsenal as an 18-year-old, and you’re not often ready to play centre-back in the Premier League at that age.
He’s cut his teeth at a lower level where he may have been more comfortable, and this summer he was quite clearly ready to finally play in the Premier League.
Saliba is now a bona fide star for Arsenal, and there’ll be no looking back from here.
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