William Saliba has title in mind as he prepares for Unai Emery and Villa

He fits Arsenal like a glove and the same is true of his immersion in north London life. Saliba is speaking at the Arsenal Hub, a year-round community centre adjacent to the Emirates, where he has been assisting some of the club’s local projects. On the afternoon of his visit he and his teammate Emile Smith Rowe work on an anti-bullying project with pupils from a school in nearby Tufnell Park; they also take part in a session with North London United, a football group for young people with Down’s syndrome. There is also a question and answer session with some BTEC coaching students.

The youthful, relatable face of Arsenal’s squad is reflected in their interactions with the youngsters. Saliba says: “We’ve all been younger people so it’s good to be with these kids,” he says. “We enjoy it, we make them happy so we are happy as well. I didn’t have the chance to meet professional footballers when I was growing up but now I’m [a player], if I can make some younger kids happy then I will do it without hesitation.”Even in the most heated debates around the legacy Unai Emery bequeathed Arsenal in 2019, there is one incontestable point. William Saliba arrived that summer with a £27m price tag and a glowing reputation as one of the world’s most feted teenage centre-backs, but another three years would pass before he made an appearance for them. Emery was long gone by then but it is little exaggeration to say Arsenal have been transformed by Saliba’s signing from Saint-Étienne. On Saturday the pair will meet at Villa Park in what, against most pre-season expectations, may prove a pivotal clash between title contenders.

It is another chance for Saliba and Arsenal, on a six-game winning run in all competitions, to demonstrate that they can stay the course this time. “We have the experience of last season, of course we are better,” he says. “Maybe we can go one better.”

Succeeding where Manchester City were deservedly beaten three days ago would heighten the impression that they can. It is easy to forget, when the ashes of last season’s doomed title chase are raked over, that Arsenal lost Saliba with a back injury in mid-March. Without him they took 18 points from their final 11 games, a tally well short of the level required to see things through. Now he is back at the heart of a team that, at least until Luton shook them up with three goals on Tuesday, have become practised at giving little away.

There is no point pretending Arsenal did not miss him. “Yeah, of course, and I missed them as well,” he says. “It was hard to be injured in this period of the season, but sometimes it’s like this. Now I’m back and I’m even stronger than before.

“It’s behind me now. It was so, so hard to be injured, to watch my team play in these hard moments and not be there. We were so close, but now we have the chance to compete again and we will do it.”

The story of Saliba’s early years at Arsenal, during which he felt some frustration at being sent on three loans of varying success, is well told by now. “Sometimes you have to learn from some bad experiences,” he says, and the once-floated notion that his long-term future might lie away from the Emirates could hardly seem further removed. Saliba has barely put a foot wrong in Arteta’s side, purring through games with a vanishingly rare blend of timing, physicality and speed. He praises the quality of Premier League strikers from top to bottom, but the fact is that hardly any have beaten him one-on-one.