Mikel Arteta might be about to finally hand William Saliba his Arsenal chance after several loan spells away.
The Frenchman was signed under the previous regime by Unai Emery and, despite being highly-rated, it quickly became apparent that Arteta seemed to have doubts about the player. So much so that he was sent back to Ligue 1 on loan amid question marks over his long-term future in north London.
Two seasons ago Saliba played at Nice and more recently he's been at Marseille but an opening looks to be coming his way at the Emirates with Arteta confessing the player was due back whilst also rejecting a potential replacement for Saliba.
He told RMC Sport: “He has to come back. He has the experience and the necessary environment to be competitive with us. If he had stayed with us this year, with one Premier League game a week and with Ben White and Gabriel, he wouldn’t have had half the game time he had with Marseille, that’s for sure.”
“In terms of his growth and what he could do next year it wouldn’t have been good. William wasn’t with us because he wouldn’t have had the playing time required to gain experience. That’s it, nothing else.”
Arsenal also look set to turn down the opportunity to sign Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund, with Manchester United also in the hunt. The Germans are willing to part with the player, whose £21m valuation is due to drop, as per The Sun. The Gunners though have no interest in the deal as they instead want a left-footed centre-half.
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Saliba is due to provide competition for Ben White in defence and has underlined his desire to return and highlight his quality at the Emirates. He said recently: "I belong to Arsenal, I still have two years left. I will be back with Arsenal. I have played zero matches and I still want to show them my true face and have the chance to play for these fans and this great club. But it doesn’t just depend on me. In any case, to leave like this, would be a shame."
Saliba is yet to make a senior appearance for Arsenal since signing for them. His only games for the club came with the U23s in Papa John's Trophy games away to Gillingham and AFC Wimbledon. The 23-year-old will be returning to a club without Champions League football as they attempt to add a striker following the departures of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in recent months.
