Arsenal signed William Saliba in 2019, three seasons on and he is still yet to play for the club.
This is partly because Mikel Arteta considered him not good enough for his team before now.
He is on his third loan spell away from the Emirates and has been in great form at Olympique Marseille.
The defender is one of the most important players at the French club, but in the summer he would face uncertainty over his future again.
Arsenal has added some impressive defenders to their squad while he struggles to break into the group.
However, his performance in this campaign is hard to ignore.
But! Football Club via Sport Witness claims he could be in line to play a key role at the Emirates in the next campaign.
It adds that Arsenal has been so impressed by his performance that they could even give him a new deal by the end of this season.
Just Arsenal Opinion
Getting Saliba to sign a contract extension would depend on how he is treated on his return to the club.
The Frenchman needs to be where he is trusted in the long-term and Arsenal must prove that before he can agree to terms of a new deal.
Many clubs will come forward to sign him, and Arteta must convince him that he has a future at the Emirates before he will accept a contract extension.
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Admin Martin the title of this article is deceptively inciting… We signed Saliba and decided to send him on loan to gain much need experience and pedigree. Does that look or feel like a reluctance by Arteta to use him? You obviously had a one-on-one convo with either the player or coach to at this conclusion.
Meanwhile, if not for the loan spells, we Arsenal fans won’t be rating or be seeing the talent Saliba.
Easy with the hasty conjectures because at the moment Saliba is still an Arsenal player and will get his chance to prove his mettle in Arsenal colours. Whether he is convinced to sign an extension is a different question.
We should more concerned about the player replicating his on-loan form when gets the opportunity to play for us… Arsenal is not Marseille or Lillle nor is the Premier League the French Ligue where he is making waves. He is just one player that needs the right combination of other players with different qualities/skillet to make him excel in our club colours. And I think Arsenal/Arteta is making headway in that direction.
I support #Arsenal and no singular player! #COYG!
Great and realistic post AG! So many fans who claim to be true Gooners appear to me to support certain players ABOVE the club they claim to love most; Ozil, Auba Guendouzi etc. all better off, FOR OUR CLUB, out of AFC. Thanks in each case to the wise actions of MA, our fine and impressive manager.
Really hope he is in Arteta’s plans next season and signs a new contract but if he decides against signing an extension then we would have to sell him, regrettably with only two years left on his contract. We should be able to make a sizeable profit on the £27m we paid St Etienne for him with his standout performances for Marseille and then I think we would then pursue Edmond Tapsoba and who we have been strongly linked with in the past and has been reported to be a long term target for the club and is very good player btw.
Arsenal fans just love what is not available, until saliba is available for arsenal squad then will start complaining that he is not good for premier league. For me no mater how he performed in league 1, if I didn’t see DAT performance in premier league I won’t join fans that that he is d best thing in football and DAT arteta messed up by sending him on loan
Fair question whether he is ready for the premier league.
No question he is one of the most talented 20 yr Olds, and arguably the most talent 20 yr old CB.
Massively important we bring him into the squad and resin him. Could solve the CB position for the next 10 years.
I cannot agree more.
Will be interesting how this one plays out
Going by his comments I personally believe he sees his future away from the club .
Signed for 4 years now He will have one season left in the summer .
There was no reason to send him out on loan this season especially when you see Mari and chambers given squad places and now have both left after hardly playing any minutes .
All the talk about having a young squad but no space could be found for him just to get used to the club and the team .
His future is now in his hands and not the club ,another player down to his last year which seems to be a recurring theme .
Going by his performances this season it would be a big loss if this was to happen .
Very badly treated and i dont see him wanting to come back and will be in a strong position to force a move away. Shame really, he has the potential to be a top player.
Will need Saliba if we are in top four next season.