Willian Saliba makes history with Arsenal, being the first player of the club to do so
Playing every single minute of the whole league season for a team just shows how pivotal the role of a player is. That is the case with William Saliba at Arsenal during the 2023–24eason. The Frenchman has not lost a single minute since Mikel Arteta asked him to play, starting every single game out of 38.
Never in the history of Arsenal that a player was able to reach such a milestone. Despite being relatively young for a center-back, Saliba has done the job tremendously, with such statistics speaking for themselves.
However, Saliba’s positive personal record did not align collectively. Arsenal failed to win the league even after pushing the title race until the very last match week of the calendar. The Gunners, who beat Everton, finished second with a two-point gap from Manchester City who clinched a victory over West Ham United.
Saliba showed an impressive improvement in terms of playing time. Apart from the league games which he only played 27 times in the 2022/23 season, he also had more opportunities in the European competition.
During 2022/23 when Arsenal played in the Europa League, Saliba appeared only four times, taking the club to the Round of 16. Meanwhile, in the 2023/24 Champions League season, he played 10 times all the way to the quarter-final.
There is still another season for Saliba to prove his worth with Arsenal, as his contract will only expire in the summer of 2027. Even if the North London-based side was willing to offload him earlier for quick cash, selling Saliba would be a good business with an estimated £75 million for his market value.
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