Arsenal fans have been waiting two years to see defender William Saliba make his Arsenal debut, and they may well have to wait a little longer…
The Frenchman has been selected to participate in the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer, and looking at their squad, they must rank amongst the favourites to lift the trophy.
In doing so, that will mean that Saliba will not only miss much of the Arsenal pre-season, but means that he will still be in action a week before the Premier League campaign kicks off, and depending on quarantine rules, may not be able to join up with the playing squad for training until the season has already began.
With strong claims that Ben White is set to arrive at the club, with a club record defender deal being mooted, he will surely be expected to play an important first-team role, and with Saliba also set to be hampered by missing out on our pre-season, it could be a massive uphill task before he can break into the manager’s plans.
Mikel Arteta has already shown that he isn’t going to bow to peer pressure when it comes to the 20 year-old’s involvement, and the club also has the likes of Calum Chambers and Rob Holding at the club as proven alternatives to White(should he sign) also.
I’m certainly not holding my breath on seeing Saliba make his Arsenal debut before September, and wouldn’t be shocked if his setbacks were to cause a rift between the youngster and the manager, and another exit in January could well end up on the cards, albeit on loan or a more permanent deal…
Should Saliba have considered rejecting the offer to play at the Olympics?
Patrick