Dominant defender William continued to establish himself as one of the best centre backs in Europe during his second season in our first team. The elegant, pacey defender became the first Arsenal outfield player since Lee Dixon in 1989/90 to play every minute of the league season, and he was a cornerstone of the Premier League’s meanest defence, winning possession 213 times; more than any other central defender in the division. William made his long-awaited debut in 2022/23 after initially signing in July 2019 and impressed from the start, underpinning our title challenge until suffering a season-ending back injury in March 2023.

He had originally made his breakthrough at Saint-Etienne, where he remained on loan after signing for us, and reached the French Cup final before spending half of 2020/21 on loan at Nice. He joined Marseille on loan the following season and helped the club to a second-place finish during a campaign in which he was named the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year, earned a spot in the league’s Team of the Year and made his senior international debut. He featured for France at the 2022 World Cup and was on the pitch for every minute of his country’s Euro 2024 campaign, being named in the UEFATeam of the Tournament as France reached the semi-final.