Why Arsenal’s Saliba is tipped as a ‘future great of French football’
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 22 Sept 2021 10:06 BST
- 5 min read
William Saliba continued to be shown the cold shoulder at Arsenal in the summer as he was shunted out on loan again for a year to Marseille.
Signed for €30 million from Saint-Etienne in 2019, Saliba has yet to play for Arsenal’s first team but enjoyed a successful loan spell with Nice during the 2020/21 campaign.
When he returned to Arsenal after that period in France, it was considered that he had done enough to at least earn his chance at the Emirates Stadium, but instead Ben White was signed for huge money.
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Manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu reckoned that a lack of first-team exposure was still hindering his chances of playing at Arsenal, but since moving to Marseille he has once again impressed at a team that is threatening a genuine title challenge to Paris Saint-Germain.
“For me, Saliba is a top player in his post,” head coach Jorge Sampaoli said. “We’ve been lucky to make a deal for him to come on loan. It wasn’t easy.
“He’s a future great of French football.”
Saliba admits that he had to push Arsenal to get his way with a move back to France.
“It was me who chose Marseille,” he said. “I know it was the right choice, so I pushed for it.”
Pass master
He’s truly talented defensively, not only at marking but in his play with the bal
- Jorge SampaoliSaliba has fitted perfectly into Marseille’s attack-minded system, in part thanks to his intelligence and solid play but largely because of his competence in possession.
Sampaoli highlighted: “He’s truly talented defensively, not only at marking but in his play with the ball. He’s adapted to the system of three defenders and his performances have linked the team together because he likes to start the play in the defence.”
The Argentine’s point is underlined by the fact that no player under the age of 21 in Europe’s Big 5 leagues has completed more passes successfully than Saliba.
Will Saliba return to Arsenal?
Saliba has been non-committal about his future, saying that he wants to “focus 100%” on this campaign with Marseille before thinking about “what will happen next year”.
Certainly, it would be a shame for Arsenal not to profit upon a player they took a chance on so young – and who remains so capable, despite being constantly rebuffed by his parent club.
