It may seem strange to think now, but when William Saliba arrived back at Arsenal this summer, his situation was far from certain. The Frenchman had been sent out on loan three separate times after signing from St. Etienne in 2019, and despite being named Ligue 1 young player of the year with Marseille last season, Mikel Arteta admits he still had some concerns that needed addressing in pre-season.
"The first question was how the player is going to reintegrate into our dynamic after being out for so long," the Spaniard told the press ahead of Arsenal's Premier League clash with Bournemouth this weekend. "Is there some frustration there, something personal between, for example, between me and the player because he could not understand that? Or his environment, his expectations coming back or the amount that we paid for him, his age? Is it the same to do it in France as it is to do it in this league for Arsenal because you don’t have 21-year-old defenders at the top level in England?"
With plenty to prove Saliba arrived for the Gunners' pre-season tour of America something of an unknown quantity to the Arsenal coaching staff. However, instead of engaging the 21-year-old in conversation to answer some of his questions, Arteta chose to allow Saliba the chance to let his football do the talking.
