William Saliba admitted he had to win over Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta who often told the centre-back that he was often too ‘soft’ in training.
Sailba joined from French side St-Etienne five years ago for a £27million fee but initially struggled to force his way into the first team.
The centre-back spent two full seasons back on loan at France before finally being given an opportunity in Arteta’s side.
Since then, though, the 23-year-old has become a mainstay in the Arsenal side that has pushed Manchester City all the way in the past couple of Premier League seasons and could be set to play a crucial role for his country at the upcoming European Championship.
Reflecting on his time under Arteta, Saliba was full of praise but admitted that the Spaniard had worked hard in the early days on toughening up the centre-back in training.
‘He taught me to have a good attitude,’ he said in an interview with L’Equipe.
‘Sometimes he thought I was a little soft in training so he asked me to be meaner. In fact, he wants the players to be scared when he sees me.
‘He took me to another level. He is one of the best coaches in the world. He looks at all the details and hates defeat. We work on each match differently.’
After this summer’s Euros, Arsenal will resume their quest to win the league for the first time in over 20 years having fallen narrowly short last time around.
Saliba believes his side are continuing to make progress but is under no illusions tough challenge that they will face again from Pep Guardiola’s side.
‘We know even more today that Manchester City can make mistakes, but that from February and March, they don’t miss anymore,’ he said.
‘We played against them three times, we put them in difficulty. They feel and we feel that we are close to them. Next year, we’re going to have an even better war.’
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