Arsenal’s new signing William Saliba has said the history of the club is what persuaded him to choose the Gunners over Tottenham (Arsenal website).
It initially seemed as if Unai Emery was set to secure an unchallenged £27million deal before Spurs came in to try and sign the defender.
But the 18-year-old ended up choosing the red side of north London despite the Lilywhites being able to offer him something that their rivals couldn’t in Champions League football.
The French teenager made 19 appearances for Ligue 1 side AS Saint-Etienne last season and played in both central defence and right-back.
It is the second dealing of the summer which the Gunners have been able to get over the line despite interest from their north London counterparts – the first being Dani Ceballos who joined them for a season-long loan from Real Madrid.
It is important to read the fine print before jumping to the conclusion that Arsenal have beaten Spurs to two players both clubs wanted.
Ceballos cited Unai Emery as a major factor behind him joining the Europa League runners-up.
The 22-year-old said the fact that because Emery is Spanish he will know how he likes to play from watching him – which could well have been the case while he was manager of Sevilla.
In addition, Madrid refused to offer Spurs an option to buy on the player and it was at that point when the Champions League finalists decided against the deal.
And with Saliba, there isn’t a great deal Levy, Pochettino or Spurs can do about the fact that Arsenal have more trophies in their cabinet from down the years.
If anything, the teenager pointing to historical reasons for his decision should only fuel those at Spurs to want to increase the gap to Arsenal, not only in the Premier League but also as a European power.
In addition, Spurs have bigger fish to fry given they have signed Tanguy Ndombele and are currently linked with Giovani Lo Celso and Paulo Dybala.
Tottenham fans, who will have the last laugh? Comment below!
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