Arsenal struck gold with £27m “monster” who’s now worth as much as Rice

When it comes to the transfer market, Arsenal have quickly established themselves as one of the most intelligent clubs in the Premier League.

Gone are the days of signing a player on loan in January, only to find out they have a broken back, or spending £35m on Shkodran Mustafi – that’s almost six Gabriel Martinellis.

Mikel Arteta and Edu are clearly on the same wavelength regarding recruits and have assembled an incredibly talented team over the last four years, even if some pundits couldn’t see the vision – looking at you, Mr Neville.

For every uninspiring signing, there have been three or four great ones, and one, in particular, has seen his value skyrocket in recent years and is now valued just as highly as the eminent Declan Rice.

William Saliba’s journey to the Emirates

The player in question is French international and defensive titan William Saliba, who signed for the Gunners in the summer of 2019 from then-Ligue 1 side Saint-Étienne for a fee in the region of £27m.

The Bondy-born gem was only 18 at the time but was already being spoken of as one of the best defensive prospects in Europe and a “future leader” by talent scout Jacek Kulig.

This growing reputation did make it harder for Arsenal to get their man, and there was even interest from Tottenham Hotspur at one point. Ultimately, though, he opted to join the red side of north London – a decision that helped win over fans.

He spent the next year on loan with Saint-Étienne before going to OGC Nice for the 2020/21 season and then Marseille for 2021/22.

While beneficial for his development, these consecutive loan spells led to claims from some in the media that Arteta was wasting the Frenchman’s talents.

However, once he made his Premier League debut for the Gunners against Crystal Palace on the opening day of the 2022/23 season, everyone understood why he had been handled the way he had.

William Saliba’s valuation at Arsenal

It can often take time for new arrivals to get up to speed with the Premier League, and in the case of defenders, that can sometimes lead to a few teething problems early on in their career, but with Saliba, there were no such problems.

In the game against Crystal Palace, he helped the Gunners keep a clean sheet and was given an 8/10 for his performance from 90min’s Jamie Spencer.

Since then, the French “monster”, as described by Kulig, has gone from strength to strength, making 50 Premier League appearances and seeing his valuation skyrocket past the £27m Arsenal paid for him four years ago.

According to the CIES Football Observatory, the Frenchman is currently worth around €100m – about £85m – which is also their valuation for arguably Arsenal’s most important player this season, Rice.

The north Londoners may have paid £105m for his services, but as with most players in the modern market, their intrinsic value is often slightly lower than the fees they are sold for.

So, with Saliba now 3.14 times more valuable than when he first put pen to paper, perhaps the club knew exactly what they were doing with his development all along.