With all of the transfer speculation that does the rounds every single week in addition to Arsenal's progress on the pitch this season, you would think that the progress of certain loanees would get lost among it all. However, William Saliba has ensured that is not the case. The 20-year-old has continued to develop well while flourishing for Marseille in Ligue 1, gaining plenty of plaudits from supporters, pundits and coaching staff along the way.
A number of impressive performances have led to the youngster receiving three Player of the Month awards so far this season, although Saliba has claimed he has been 'very average' since February. football.london understands that Saliba intends to return to North London at the end of the season and fight for a place in Mikel Arteta's squad, despite Marseille president Pablo Longoria publicly admitting his desire for the player to join permanently.
Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White's solid defensive partnership has become an integral part of the Arsenal team this season but that isn't the only thing that has raised questions over how Saliba will fit in. According to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, Arsenal have made a contract offer to Barcelona's Ronald Araujo. It's added that Manchester United and Liverpool have also made proposals to the player, who has entered the final 18 months of his deal at the Camp Nou.
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Romero has reported that the Gunners and Jurgen Klopp's side have offered Araujo a €6m (£5m) per-year deal, with going in slightly higher with €8m (£6.7m). Like Saliba, Araujo is also a right-footed centre half who can fill in at right-back if required and the 23-year-old Uruguayan international has established himself as one of Barca's best defenders.
This understandably raises questions over what it would mean for Saliba should he look to pursue a career at the Emirates but Mikel Arteta must ensure that the potential addition of Araujo has no direct impact on the Frenchman. Arsenal continue to push for UEFA Champions League qualification this season and find themselves sitting fourth in the league with three games in hand over some of their main rivals.
Qualifying for Europe means more games, whatever competition the club may be in and while Arteta's current backline has its talents, it certainly hasn't got the depth. Apart from Gabriel and White, Rob Holding is the only other natural centre-back within the first-team squad after Pablo Mari joined Udinese on loan in January. It is unlikely that the Spaniard will reclaim his spot next season and Holding's lack of game time in recent months has left his own future up in the air.
Arteta has said it's time to go to a "different level" in the summer transfer window, hinting that he and technical director Edu are looking to bring in top-quality players who can take an exciting youthful team to another level. If the club is serious about growing stronger and competing with some of the best in football, then Araujo's arrival must be a sign of intent rather than being a replacement for one of the most talented young players in the game.
