Had a poll been run at the point that William Saliba left Arsenal to join Olympique Marseille on loan to join wantaway Matteo Guendouzi in France, with the purpose of determining fan confidence that the 20-year-old would sign a new contract upon his return I imagine the results would not have been too positive. Saliba’s Arsenal career has been a non-starter for so long that many assumed it was done.
Saliba joined Arsenal in 2019 but the arrival of Mikel Arteta put the breaks on an early entry into the senior setup. The Spaniard decided, rather quickly, that the young defender wasn’t ready.
Mistakes were made in the summer of 2020 and a failure to get Saliba the loan he needed meant he suffered six months of playing youth football. This certainly left him feeling detached and unwanted and his interviews when on loan with Nice showed his frustration.
