William Saliba

William Saliba
Saliba with Marseille in 2022
Personal information
Full name William Alain André Gabriel Saliba[1]
Date of birth (2001-03-24) 24 March 2001 (age 23)[2]
Place of birth Bondy, France
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 2
Youth career
2008–2014 AS Bondy
2014–2016 FC Montfermeil
2016–2018 Saint-Étienne
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018 Saint-Étienne B 3 (0)
2018–2019 Saint-Étienne 16 (0)
2019– Arsenal 75 (4)
2019–2020 → Saint-Étienne (loan) 12 (0)
2021 → Nice (loan) 20 (1)
2021–2022 → Marseille (loan) 36 (0)
International career‡
2017 France U16 7 (1)
2017–2018 France U17 6 (2)
2018 France U18 5 (1)
2018 France U19 3 (0)
2019 France U20 1 (0)
2021 France U21 5 (0)
2022– France 25 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  France
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2022
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:34, 10 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:28, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

William Alain André Gabriel Saliba (born 24 March 2001) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Arsenal and the France national team. Regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the world, he is known for his strength, pace, tackling and composure.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

  1. ^ "Squad List: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: France (FRA)" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. p. 12. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  2. ^ "William Saliba: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  3. ^ "William Saliba: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Is Arsenal's Saliba the best centre-back in the world?". ESPN. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  5. ^ "The 10 best centre-backs in the world right now named and ranked". SPORTbible. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  6. ^ Collins, Luke; Bishop, Callum (30 March 2023). "The 10 best centre-backs in world football right now have been ranked". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Best defenders in the world 2024". Radio Times. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  8. ^ "FC 100 best men's soccer centre-backs, 2022-23". ESPN. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  9. ^ Bascombe, Chris (24 December 2023). "William Saliba is Virgil van Dijk's heir apparent as Premier League's best defender". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  10. ^ Edwards, Harry (24 October 2023). "William Saliba is one of the Premier League's four best centre-backs – Emmanuel Petit". Squawka. [bare URL]