William Saliba Wants Arsenal To Sign More French Players

By The Editor
on 7th December 2023

William Saliba is feeling a bit lonely…

Arsenal star William Saliba has noticed that he’s experiencing a unique period in the club’s recent history, with the 22-year-old the only player who speaks French as their first language, the defender told Arsenal Media.

Saliba noted that he arrived in 2019 to a squad filled with French-speaking players, admitting that it was easier to settle in with the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe and Matteo Guendouzi around the dressing room.

After a few spells out on loan, the former St-Etienne starlet returned to a completely different changing room after the quartet above were all phased out by Mikel Arteta.

Speaking to the club’s in-house media channel, Saliba lightheartedly mentioned that while he’s friendly with everyone on the squad, having a French-speaking clique would be nice.

When asked about who helped him settle in when he first arrived four years ago, the French international replied: “When I came here there were a lot of French players.

“Laca, Aubameyang, Pepe and Guendouzi, so It was easy. Now, I am the only French player.

“We need to sign more French players!

“Because everyone has their gang. Portuguese, Brazilians they are all together.”

Saliba is certainly developing a solid partnership on the pitch with Gabriel Magalhaes given that we top the league in almost every defensive metric.

Gabriel did spend some time at Lille and can communicate in French, though I doubt Saliba is as lonely has he jokes about in the interview.

It is interesting, though, given the wealth of talent coming from France, that our recruitment team haven’t delved into that market since Arteta’s arrival. It does seem like a matter of time before Saliba gets his wish.