Arsenal are preparing for another big season in which they will hope to finally win the Premier League title for the first time since 2004.
The Gunners will also be in the Champions League for the second year in a row and will hope to go further than the quarter-final stage.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has assembled a star-studded squad featuring many top talents who are either in their prime or yet to reach it.
Now, talkSPORT pundit and Arsenal fan Darren Bent has described one young Gunners player as “one of the best… if not the best” in the world in his position.
Darren Bent hails Arsenal ace William Saliba
The player in question is William Saliba, who has gone from strength to strength at Arsenal in the past few years.
The Gunners signed the 23-year-old in the summer of 2019, but he didn’t make his competitive debut until 2022.
Saliba needed some time to develop away from the Emirates Stadium, taking in a number of loan stints away until he was at the required level.
The Frenchman hasn’t looked back since making his debut at the start of the 2022/23 campaign, and is now an integral player for his club.
Saliba also went on to shine at Euro 2024, earning a spot in the official team of the tournament.
What has Darren Bent said about Saliba?
Bent, speaking on talkSPORT, was asked who he felt was Arsenal’s most important player.
“For me, Saliba,” he replied. “He would be at the top of mine (list).
He has evolved into one of the best centre-halves in the world, if not the best. He is up there. How good was he in the Euros!
“So, I just think Saliba. We saw what happened, not last season, the season before, when he was injured, the drop-off was massive.”
Saliba set to be key for Arsenal once again
When Arteta took the Arsenal reins in 2019, they were in mid-table and hadn’t even reached the top four for a couple of years.
Now, the Gunners are back at the top of English football and will be eager to kick on in the coming seasons.
Saliba has been crucial in Arsenal’s return to prominence and, at just 23 years of age, he’s still nowhere near his prime as a centre-back.
It’ll be exciting to see how the £27million man – and the rest of the squad – gets on over the next 10 or so months.
Arsenal still have a fair bit of work to do in the transfer window, with yet more players rumoured to be in line to leave the Gunners over the next three weeks.
