Arsenal could sell “world-class” star for mega 151% profit

In the years since Arsène Wenger finally hung up his comically oversized jacket, Arsenal fans have been through a lot.

They’ve seen their team languish in midtable for two years, reach a Europa League Final only to be pummelled by Chelsea, and lift an FA Cup that seemed like an impossible task at the time.

Since the great Frenchman left North London, the Gunners’ faithful have also experienced life under two permanent managers: Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta.

Now, the latter has been undeniably more successful at the Emirates and stands a very good chance of lifting some major silverware with the club in the coming years, but the former did get a few things right during his tenure, notably securing the services of someone who’d go on to be a star in Arteta’s defence today.

Arsenal’s defensive stars

Arsenal have been able to run Manchester City close for two seasons on the spin now because, under Arteta, they have become a relatively complete team, one able to control games in the midfield and punish opposition defences with their incredibly gifted attacking players like Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and even Kai Havertz.

With that said, the pièce de résistance of Arteta’s team is arguably the defence, as across 38 games last season, the North Londoners produced the best defence in the league, conceding just 29 goals and keeping a staggering 18 clean sheets in the process.

What should worry opposing fans is that with the addition of Riccardo Calafiori this summer, the Gunners’ defensive unit has become even more robust, although for as talented as the Italian is, he’ll likely have to share starts with Jurrien Timber and maybe even Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back.

However, there is no debate over who should be starting in the other three positions. For example, Ben White has locked down the opposite flank for a couple of seasons now.

While he initially played at centre-back following his £50m arrival from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2021, he has become one of the best full-backs in the league, making 93 appearances for the North Londoners there.

To his left is the man mountain, Gabriel Magalhães, who, following his £27m move to the Emirates in 2020, has silenced his critics and become an incredibly accomplished centre-back, capable of bullying attackers off the ball and playing a fantastic pass to the feet of his own forwards to pick up an assist.

Moreover, the Brazilian international also has a knack for scoring goals himself, and in his 154 appearances in the Premier League, he has found the back of the net on 14 occasions, which is quite remarkable for someone in his position.

Now, the final player, who is a nailed-on starter in Arteta’s defence, was signed by Emery, and while he wasn’t cheap, his valuation has skyrocketed since.

William Saliba’s valuation in 2024

Yes, the player in question is, of course, William Saliba, who joined Arsenal in the summer of 2019 from Ligue 1 side Saint-Étienne for a fee of around £27m.

Now, for a player who was just 19 years old at the time, that’s an undeniably sizeable fee, but in the years since, the Gunners’ decision to pull the trigger has been more than justified on and off the pitch, as, according to Transfermarkt, the Frenchman is now worth at least €80m, which converts to about £68m.

That represents a 151% increase on the fee paid by the North Londoners five years ago, although if it came down to it, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them ask for in excess of £100m for the 23-year-old’s services, and they would be entirely justified in doing so.

For example, after spending three seasons on loan in Ligue 1, the “world-class” defender, as dubbed by teammate Gabriel, came into Arteta’s lineup for the opening game of the 22/23 season, immediately looked like the best centre-back on the pitch and was even named Man of the Match.

In all, the Bondy-born monster has 86 appearances for the Premier League runners-up, and so long as the club can keep a hold of him, there is no reason to think that he won’t be one of the first names on the teamsheet for some time to come.

Ultimately, Arsenal have constructed a genuinely incredible defence over the last few years, and while the likes of Gabriel and White are massively important, there is a sense that with enough money, they could be replaced in some way or another, but when it comes to Saliba, that’s not the case, and that is an indication of just how talented he is.