William Saliba’s future at Arsenal is again a hot topic for discussion.
The 19-year-old, considered one of the brightest prospects in European football, joined the Gunners for a reported fee of £ 27 million in the summer transfer window in 2019 and was immediately loaned back to Saint-Etienne to continue his development.
However, Saliba’s 2019/20 campaign did not go as planned.
He missed the start of the season after undergoing surgery for an adductor muscle injury that kept him out of action for six weeks – during which time he returned to London Colney for treatment.
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A month after returning to action, the teenager suffered a disaster during the 1-0 victory over Monaco while suffering a fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone.
It turned out to be Saliba’s last appearance in 2019, as another failure followed in April 2020 when French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe confirmed that the rest of the Ligue 1 season had been canceled due to a coronavirus pandemic.
As a result, Saliba’s campaign ended with him making only 17 appearances in all competitions – and Mikel Arteta has already revealed that the teenager did not have the transition year the club expected.
Therefore, the Arsenal manager hesitated to give the defender his debut in the first team, and also left him out of his composition of the Europa League for the group stage.
Although many fans demanded that Saliba get a chance, Arteta admitted that the Frenchman could start in the January transfer window.
“We made a decision with him and we’ll see what we do in January,” Arteta said after Arsenal’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup quarterfinals. “We are talking about it [loan move] yes. “
In this regard, there is one condition under which Arsenal could reverse any decision to send Salibu on loan next month.
And that if Arteta is no longer a manager.
According to L’Equipe, who described Salibu and Arsenal as a ‘failed marriage’ and that a teenage ‘English adventure turns into a mess’, the only way for a defender to continue at Emirates Stadium is if there is a change of manager.
In addition, the report – according to a sports witness – claims that both sides have agreed that Saliba’s situation cannot continue as it has so far, and his agent will talk to Artet and technical director Edu about his immediate future.
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Although the pressure on Artet is increasing after the bad form in the Premier League, which left the side four points away from the relegation zone, it seems that his job is not endangered.
football.london reported last week that Arteta has the full support of Arsenal owner KSE (Kroenke Sports Entertainment) and the long-term plan is to create a ‘cultural change’ that will see many players leave the club in the next few months.
With the exception of a turnaround from owner Stan Kroenke regarding the Spaniard’s position, Salib seems poised for a temporary exit in January, where he will finally get a few minutes under the belt.