Is William Saliba still pushing to leave Arsenal?
Karan Tejwani
- 26 Jul 2022 10:30 BST
- 3 min read
There has been plenty of debate over the future of Arsenal defender William Saliba, having spent the last season on loan at Ligue 1 side Marseille.
The Frenchman joined the club in 2019, and has spent time away on loan at three different French clubs since: Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille.
Last season, he was so impressive for Marseille that he was named Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Year, and was also part of the Team of the Season.
Additionally, he also made his debut for the French national team, which has prompted calls for him to make a permanent move to Marseille.
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Arteta impressed by Saliba's performances
There have been plenty of reports over Saliba’s relationship with Arsenal and head coach Mikel Arteta over the years, and there was a belief he wouldn’t get the same chances with the Gunners in the 2022-23 campaign.
Arteta, however, has been adamant on playing him in pre-season, and has been impressed by the defender’s performances: “I’m pleased to see the way he is playing. He’s already a top player.”
Arteta continued: "The way he has adapted to the team, the maturity that he's shown at 21 years old, carry on doing it. We will keep developing him, he has huge potential, he is already a top player and we have to make him even better. He looked ready to me today."
William Saliba’s stats vs Chelsea:
- 28 passes completed
- 9 interceptions
- 100% ground duels won
- 100% aerial duels won
- 0 times dribbled past
- 0 goals conceded
- 1 clean sheet
Exciting times ahead…🥶💪🏼
[Stats from @TheAFCaddicts] pic.twitter.com/JiRGrmlFWz— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) July 25, 2022
Marseille, though, have been interested in bringing Saliba back to the south coast of France, especially seeing as they’ll have Champions League football in the upcoming season.
Marseille President Pablo Longoria was reportedly in London on Monday evening to discuss Saliba’s future, meeting up with the player’s agent to see if there was a possibility of a return.
Arsenal, though, have made it clear they wish to keep the player and have him in their plans for the upcoming season, forming a fine defensive group alongside Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes.
The club have also said they don’t plan to make any moves for centre-backs, and that three loan spells away was good enough for Saliba’s development, ahead of this season with the Gunners.
