Why Arteta was right to send Saliba on loan to Marseille this season
FT Desk
- 31 Mar 2022 17:31 BST
- 5 min read
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has stated that he and the club are “really happy” with the decision they took to send William Saliba out on loan to Marseille at the start of the season.
The young central defender has had a peculiar time of it since making the move to North London from Saint Etienne in 2019 for a sizable sum of £27 million.
Despite joining the club almost three years ago, Saliba has yet to make a single first team appearance for Arsenal and has been sent out on loan no less than three times, including this season’s spell at the Ligue 1 giants.
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Arteta and his backroom staff came under some criticism in the summer transfer window when they spent £53 million signing central defender Ben White from Brighton, when Saliba was still sitting in the club’s reserves.
However, Arteta feels as though his decision to send Saliba out on loan again has since proven to be the right call.
“I think we are really happy with the decision that we made because again the exposure and minutes and responsibility on his growth at his age is something that we could not guarantee him this season,” said the Arsenal manager in a press conference on Thursday. And in many ways Arteta may be right.
Arteta on Saka contract talks, as first reported last month:
"We are extremely happy with Bukayo, the progression he's having and what he brings to the team. Obviously we are not going to share any discussions but we are really happy with him."— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) March 31, 2022
Arteta was right to move Saliba out on loan
While Arsenal fans are clamouring for Saliba to join the club’s first team, it’s worth bearing in mind that the signing of White has proven to be a very smart piece of business as Arteta’s side look solid in defence.
Alongside Gabriel in the centre of defence, White has continued to impress as one of the most promising defenders in the Premier League. And unless Arteta was willing to unceremoniously drop or sell the Brazilians defender, there would have been little room for Saliba this season.
As such, sending the young defender out on loan to a high-pressure side like Marseille has allowed him to continue developing rather than sitting on the bench at Arsenal all season.
Therefore, Arteta can now look to bring Saliba into the fold next season as a first team player that can be rotated in and out of the team, with the newly-acquired experience of being a first team regular at a big club.
