William Saliba completed his transfer from Saint-Etienne to Arsenal yesterday.
The central defender was interviewed by Arsenal’s official website shortly after the deal was announced and the Gunners could not resist making a dig towards North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were also heavily interested in landing the 18-year-old and were said to have attempted to hijack his move to Arsenal by offering the same €30m transfer fee but with better add-ons (Guardian).
The Arsenal official website name-dropped Spurs as being in the running for Saliba’s signature with a question which was posed to their new recruit: “We know that you had a choice between us and our rivals, Tottenham. What was it about Arsenal that made you want to come here?”
Saliba’s answer was equally as baffling when he referenced that he has been watching Arsenal play in the Champions League. His memory is certainly good considering that the Woolwich have not appeared in European football’s most prestigious club competition since 2016/17.
He said: “Well, the history, the badge… since I was little, I’ve been watching Arsenal play in the Champions League and so on, and there are a lot of French players who have come through here. So that really helped me to make my mind up.”
The player will be back in France next season on a season-long loan deal at Saint-Etienne where he will be able to tune in on Thursday night and watch his new employers taking part in the Europa League once again.
Who needs Saliba when you have Tangana.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
