Two days; that is all it took for the international break to throw up a story to ignite Arsenal supporters into a near-full meltdown about one of their players. We used to be used to this: seeing our best players poached in search of trophies and sometimes just more money.
However, William Saliba plays in an era where that was thought a thing of the past. Players sign new deals at Arsenal in 2024, they don’t up sticks and leave a project half-baked… well, unless your name is Edu Gaspar of course.
Yet I find myself not entirely surprised and therefore pained by the prospect of Saliba leaving for the reported destination of Real Madrid. For the record, the suggestions coming out of France are that the former Saint-Etienne defender has not ruled out the prospect of moving to the biggest club to have ever existed one day… shock, horror.
The biggest teams in the world sign the best players, but they also lose the best players. Look at Liverpool, who lost Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho; Barcelona with Neymar, or even Manchester City with Leroy Sane and perhaps to a lesser extent Julian Alvarez.
Players leave and they have their reasons, you cannot be beholden to one. But that is a problem Arsenal do have and they have been reminded of it harshly these past few weeks.
The loss of Martin Odegaard to an injury sparked a creative dip that can only be likened to the Marvel films post-Endgame. The Gunners lacked imagination and flair and the doubts have crept into the minds of viewers as a result.
Seeing him back on our screens and on the pitch against Chelsea, where he set up Gabriel Martinelli’s goal and played the key pass to William Saliba in the final seconds to set up what should have been the match-winning chance showed exactly what he brought. Saliba missed the clash with Liverpool through suspension and further injuries and problems in the game saw a back four finish the 2-2 draw which on paper would make anyone wonder how Mohamed Salah and company didn’t take advantage of it.
This therefore translates perfectly to the idea of losing Saliba. Whoever is going to take over the role of sporting director, vacated by Edu, has a massive task of continuing the idea of longevity at Arsenal.
Having competitive players who can cover multiple positions but knowing that key stars will always start. If Saliba leaves, however, it opens the room for perhaps a new high-profile candidate.
Not only that but any exit of Saliba must see a potentially record-level transfer fee attached to such a move and set Arsenal up for the future. Who wouldn’t want that job?
