How William Saliba became an Arsenal player – Josh Kroenke

Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke reveals that a post-match conversation with Per Mertesacker directly led to the signing of William Saliba after he inquired about finding a world-class defender like Virgil van Dijk.

“I had a great conversation with (former Arsenal defender and academy manager) Per Mertesacker after the final in Baku,” says Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke.

“I made a comment about Virgil van Dijk, who had arrived at Liverpool a year or two before. I said, ‘How do we get one of… pic.twitter.com/ezha7eIJzE

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) May 28, 2026

“I had a great conversation with (former Arsenal defender and academy manager) Per Mertesacker after the final in Baku,” says Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke.

“I made a comment about Virgil van Dijk, who had arrived at Liverpool a year or two before. I said, ‘How do we get one of these guys into our system?’”

Mertesacker explained that unless Arsenal were prepared to pay £100million, they shouldn’t even think about the likes of Van Dijk. Undeterred, Kroenke asked the former German international who he considered the best young defender in Europe.

“He turned without hesitation and said, ‘William Saliba.’”

Within a matter of months, Saliba had signed for Arsenal. It would be three years before he made his Premier League debut, and Kroenke admits to fretting over whether the signing would get his opportunity.

“I was sitting over in America laughing, going, ‘Please let this kid work out!’,” he says.