If we want to win the league we need to be assembling players like this. Saliba has all the tools to lead our backline. He could end up being our best post-Wenger signing. In fact I feel Arsene would be delighted too.

Only if he is patient enough to stay with us and not move onto real contenders while we dilly dally

Hope he’s not the French Micah Richards

And in the mean time we continue with Mustafi and Jenkinson in the defence this season.

He really does remind of a young Varane.

Yes, he looks a bit like a young Varane

One for the future but looks a great talent, I know we need a CB now but for his development another year in France will do him good.

I'm kinda cheesed that we're in the quandary of not having a CB yet letting a smashin new CB go back on a loan. But I suppose it worked in our favour fending off Spuds.

It's gonna be painful watching Mustafi gifting goals for the oppo's while Saliba is beasting in Ligue 1.

banduan wrote:

I'm kinda cheesed that we're in the quandary of not having a CB yet letting a smashin new CB go back on a loan. But I suppose it worked in our favour fending off Spuds.

Long term it will have its benefits, he is only 18 so would be unrealistic to expect him to come in and solve our problems straight away. Another year in France will be very good for him

What's the rush on this guy exactly? He barely played last year. Leave him to develop with the knowledge that you don't have to fight for him next summer

People saying all those stuffs, we should always always be doing that with talents and beat other clubs to it no matter what it takes.

There's a whole squad of Arsenal supporters that are in it to be as negative as possible. Arsenal will be stupid no matter what they do, it'll be a bad deal no matter what it is, and the grass will always be greener. We sign youth, where are the real signings? We sign experience, where are the youth? It'll never end.

This was a great deal, and we're on course for an excellent summer. It's all still to be proved, though.

He's not going to be here for year? Well then the job of the rest of the squad is to make sure he comes to a Champions League club.

What do we recon lads - those blond highlights gone by the time he plays for us?

😆 Dear, oh dear.

Little ol' Tottenham never had a chance:

[Twitter]

The little boy inside of him.

21 days later

Went to check up on his progress and I see he's out for six weeks after having surgery 😆

8 months later

Now that the French league has been cancelled, Saliba would be allowed to play for us wouldn’t he, if the season resumes?

Yes, but I think the transfer window has to open first so we can register him in the squad.

I wonder if they’ll allow registrations? Instinctively you’d think no but if loan deals and contracts expire then you’d think they’d have to, no?

Klaus wrote:

Yes, but I think the transfer window has to open first so we can register him in the squad.

He’s already registered for this season. Arsenal wanted to have him included so he can count as home grown after 3 years.

Yeah remember reading that we had already registered him for that purpose.

goon wrote:

I wonder if they’ll allow registrations? Instinctively you’d think no but if loan deals and contracts expire then you’d think they’d have to, no?

I thought he would have to have been re-registered having been on loan. Had a look at the premier league rules (p211-212) but there doesn't seem to be any clear guidance. I think the most relevant section would be that the player is unable to play until the League confirm with the club an international transfer certificate has been issued - based on mutual cancellation of loan. If Ligue 1/St Etienne issue the certificate I can't see why he wouldn't be allowed to play. I don't know whether they would, or could, have reason to refuse this. Maybe to protect the integrity of the agreement or something? I don't know.  

It's a curious situation as the English and French seasons are aligned and the situation is unprecedented between both leagues. Best comparison would probably be what happens where a player is loaned from USA or a South American country. When the European season completes, do they go straight back to playing? 

I think it might a problem if it were a situation like Keita moving to Liverpool, the deal there was a forward transaction where both clubs agreed the player would be moving twelve months after the agreement was made. Saliba however was an Arsenal player already who moved immediately back for a limited time - there's no way the FA or LFP would let him become a free agent because that's what he'd be if he wasn't able to register with us.

Same situation as with Mkhitaryan basically.

It'd mean we lose Ceballos too. So it all evens out.

Yeah except Ceballos is ten times the player and we're yet to properly use him.


To be fair he is our most influential CM. Progressive yet defensively aware

Think those stats show more than anything that Willock is a player to keep betting on.

And that Torreira is a mug.

Yep, but he's also a different type of player, focuses mostly on pressing high, so he'll never come out looking good in these comparisons.

I don't care much about those stats aside from the first two categories. Out of the three top raking players Willock has by far the best instincts in tight spaces and in front of goal too. Think it confirms that he's got the makings of a good box to box player which we lack much more than a decent passer currently.

Yeah, I'm praying Willock is developed properly under Arteta. Please no more of that number 10 bollocks for him - it's horrific.

The worry for Willock is that I think he's incredibly similar to Ramsey stylistically, meaning his best position is probably in centre mid as part of a midfield 3. I think he can play in a midfield 2 as well but not many managers seem to trust those sorts of players in there.

He needs to work on his decision making too, he's got a touch of Ross Barkley about him in that regard.