Nice has opened the door for William Saliba to stay with them permanently after he joined them on loan this month.
The Frenchman had spent the first half of the season at Arsenal, but he wasn’t considered ready for action by the Mikel Arteta.
He is now in a team where he will see some football before this campaign ends, but there is also concern that he might not have a future at the Emirates.
The Gunners will be watching him closely during this loan stint, but they won’t be the only team and it seems that Nice might attempt to keep him with them beyond this season.
Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere was speaking about keeping him at his side beyond the current campaign and claimed that he needs to be allowed to enjoy playing the game again.
He then admitted that the door to keep him beyond this season is open, but that talk should only start at the end of his initial loan spell.
The Metro report Rivere as saying: “Let’s let him rediscover enjoying being on the pitch, playing.
“At the end of the 6 months, we’ll see – today he’s owned by a club called Arsenal. Everyone in June will come together and decide.
“A door is always open in life. When you have a situation where parties can talk, the doors are open. We are not there yet.”