Mikel Arteta has expressed his desire to include William Saliba in his plans, insisting he has to come back to Arsenal in the summer.
William Saliba has managed to divide the Arsenal fanbase like no other player. The club are constantly dragged into a negative spiral regarding the 20-year-old defender, who has yet to play a single minute of competitive football since signing three years ago.
After a tremendous 2021/22 season at Marseille, Saliba won Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Year gong. The 21-year-old French defender has suggested he may want to remain with the French side and play in the UEFA Champions League next season.
Reports emerged suggesting Arsenal could be willing to sanction a sale for €30 million, which seems puzzling considering how drastically the defender’s value has increased over the past 12 months. If Saliba were to return to north London, there is considerable competition for places, with Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes currently the first-choice center-backs.
Moreover, Saliba could only be playing Europa League instead of his desire to compete in the Champions League. In recent months, many reports emerging out of France suggested the 20-year-old may want guarantees over a starting role, which may be impossible with the north Londoners.
Arteta on William Saliba:
“He has to come back. He has the experience and the environment to be competitive with us.” ?? pic.twitter.com/SBqYJgeSBi
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) May 24, 2022
And now, Mikel Arteta has insisted Saliba will come back to the club, thus squashing all rumours of a stay at Marseille. Arteta’s comments were quoted by Fabrizio Romano via RMC Sport, as the Arsenal manager suggested the France international remains in his plans.
Arteta said, “Saliba has to come back. He has the experience to be competitive with us. We sent him to Marseille for his growth. William wanted to be a regular starter, as you know, now we want him back at Arsenal”.
“If he’d stayed with us this year, with a match a week, with White & Gabriel, he wouldn’t have had half the playing time he had with Marseille. He wasn’t with us because he wouldn’t have had the playing time to gain experience. That’s it, nothing else.”
The big question is whether Saliba will be open to competing with the likes of Ben White and Gabriel next season. At the same time, Arsenal will certainly have more games to play with their participation in the Europa League, where the defender could certainly show his quality to the manager.
Saliba is tipped for a bright future, and Arsenal will likely be keen to renew his terms as he enters the final two years of his current deal. The 20-year-old could be a brilliant addition to the Gunners as Arteta could look forward to healthy competition in central defence, which was missing in the current campaign.
