Mathieu Debuchy Talks Up Arsenal Loanee William Saliba

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Arsenal have received a glowing endorsement about the talent and potential of William Saliba from an unlikely source. Saliba signed for the Gunners last summer but has remained at Saint-Etienne on loan, where he has impressed Mathieu Debuchy, who left north London under a cloud in 2018.

Debuchy returned to Ligue 1 after an injury-hit stint with Arsenal, but told the Official Ligue 1 Podcast (h/t Goal’s Chris Burton) his former club has acquired a special player: “He’s a great player. I’m so happy for him to play next season for a big club like Arsenal. He improves every game, and I think he is a great player. He’s strong, with good technique. He’s quick, too. I think he has a lot of quality to play at Arsenal.”

Club team-mate Yohan Cabaye echoed Debuchy’s words. The 34-year-old is also a former Premier League player, with spells at Newcastle United and Crystal Palace, and he told the same source Saliba is “strong, and hopefully, he will adapt himself really quickly. In a club like Arsenal with French players, I think he can do really well.”

Saliba is slated to join up with the Arsenal team this summer, with the 18-year-old expected to add the athleticism and aggressiveness the Gunners have lacked at the back for too long.

His promise was enough for the defensively needy Gunners to wait on Saliba’s arrival after spending £27 million on the teenager last summer. The deal was only agreed after Saint-Etienne insisted the centre-back spend this season on loan.

Initially, it looked like a misstep after Arsenal failed to fortify the backline despite signing David Luiz from Chelsea and bringing Kieran Tierney over from Celtic. Former Chelsea man Luiz has been mistake-prone, while brittle left-back Tierney is out until March with a shoulder injury.

Worse still, Saliba’s development looked to be stalled when he missed six weeks following surgery to fix a thigh problem. A fractured foot has also cost him time, but The Sun‘s Jeremy Smith still praised his impact under Claude Puel: “Slotting into the right side of Puel’s back three, he has added a sense calmness to what had been a very nervy back line—despite being its youngest member.”

Saliba has been catching the eye, particularly during a 1-0 win over AS Monaco in the Coupe de France on January 28:

Arsenal don’t play a back three on Mikel Arteta’s watch, but the Spaniard has prioritized making the team’s rearguard tougher. Arteta has Arsenal pressing with more intensity and higher up the pitch.

It’s meant teams are finding it harder to create clear-cut chances against the Gunners. There has been a noticeable improvement in the number of shots faced, which was an obvious problem during Emery’s tenure:

Making improvements with the existing and previously struggling personnel bodes well for how strong Arsenal’s defence can become for a team guilty of conceding 34 goals in 25 league games already this season.

Previous attempts to bolster personnel have fallen flat. Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos have struggled at centre-back, while Debuchy failed to replace Bacary Sagna in 2014.

Debuchy couldn’t overcome injuries and criticised then-Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger for denying him the chance to join Manchester United in the winter of 2018.

Saliba will give Arteta better options, along with January signings Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares. Arsenal acquired centre-back Mari from Flamengo, while Soares arrived from Southampton, with both players joining on loan deals with options to buy, per BBC Sport.

The ideal scenario would see natural left-footer Mari form a complementary partnership with Saliba. Pace, power and continuity are the traits any strong defence is built on, and Saliba’s impending arrival represents the latest attempt for Arsenal to rebuild a unit overhauled unsuccessfully several times since 2014.

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