Saliba getting his own back? by Dan Smith
Arsenal is facing an issue with William Saliba that they were always likely to face, it’s just our season has been so good we kind of swept the situation under the carpet.
It’s been reported that the Gunners are stunned by the demands their defender has made in order to extend his contract.
Whoever’s leaked this information out has shared it round the media with rumours saying that trebling his current 40,000 pound a week salary won’t be enough for him to commit his future to the club.
It’s funny how this gets leaked out when it suits Arsenal’s agenda, happy for their player to be portrayed as greedy.
Yet when Arsenal wants a talent off the wage bill, and that person wants to be loyal to the agreement, they will play every dirty truck imaginable.
It’s too easy to say Saliba can earn more money and have a better chance of trophies at a PSG as his sole motivation.
Equally how valued does the player feel in North London?
Arsenal have had nearly three years to make the 22-year-old feel settled into English Football.
Yet he’s only played one season with us. If this turns out to be his only campaign with us it will turn out to one of the worst business deals in our history.
We spent 27 million on a teenager, just to loan him to three clubs where he got the attention of a host of possible suitors. That could have happened while he played for us, so we could at least benefit out of the arrangement.
Saliba has never made any secret that he didn’t agree with the decision to send him back to France and felt this wasn’t communicated well with him.
Saliba wasn’t registered for any of our squads in Arteta’s first preseason. Understandably the centreback felt he was good enough to at least make the bench for a team who had just finished 8th, Arsenal’s worse finish in quarter of a century.
When sent to Nice, he said: “It is clear that so much has changed in the last year,” Saliba told RMC. “When I saw that the coach changed a lot changed for me too.
“He judged me on two-and-a-half matches. I would have liked for him to play me more, but he told me I wasn’t ready.
“I was waiting for him to give me a chance, but football is like that. When I initially came to Arsenal the league looked very good, so I showed up to training and wanted to train on my own to show the coach I was ready.’
Despite again impressing in Ligue one and his parent club matching their worse League position in 25 years Saliba was still deemed not good enough to make one of the worse Arsenal squads in decades. It was even more bizarre when he earnt his first caps for France. So, he was good enough to play for the World Champions but not for a team who couldn’t even qualify for Europe?
No wonder Saliba didn’t seem in a hurry to return from Marseille where he was voted Ligue ones best young player and got in the Leagues team of the year.
Marseille’s President wasn’t shy in saying he would love to make a permanent deal happen if he got the hint that’s what all parties wanted.
Saliba never flat out squashed this suggestion, “There is always a chance,” he told Le Parisien when asked about staying with Marseille.
“I do not hide that I am very happy in Marseille.
“I have developed, I have passed a milestone. If I make it into France’s squad it’s thanks to Marseille, because there is a lot of visibility.
They are a very big club with a lot of pressure, but when you’re good there are a lot of good things that happen to you.’
This is where Gooners shouldn’t live in a bubble and be able to see that the sport exists outside of England. If you’re a Frenchman and your local media are hyping you up and you can take your pick of French clubs, why would you be bothered about returning to a country where your manager hasn’t shown faith in you?
I have always maintained that Mikel Arteta has got used to washing his hands of talent the moment they don’t fit into his ethos.
That’s not his fault but his employers. The Kroenke Family should have insisted that the Spaniard work with the resources at his disposal, but a rookie boss was made to think it’s normal management to just discard assets the moment they don’t meet his principles.
Think how many players have had their contracts ripped up, paid to sit at home for long spells or loaned out just so we can reduce the wage bill?
You could probably make an 11. If nothing else, it’s bad business.
Yet all the while he was doing the clubs dirty work by freezing out our high earners Ozil and Aubameyang.
While some might even understand the need to give up on Pepe, and while some might not sympathise with a Bellerin, eventually this term of man management was always going to bite Arteta.
He calls his approach as ‘Non negotiables’ but eventually you get to encounter a player good enough, young enough and holding enough cards where you have to negotiate your ‘non negotiables’.
This isn’t a player the owners want off the wage bill, or a player past his best. This is a defender who was one of the best in his position in the Prem having been the same for years in his homeland.
I wonder now if Arteta wishes, all those years ago, he had communicated better with Saliba.
He was arrogant not too, thinking he had better options, that it would be weakness to compromise with a youngster?
Maybe he forgot the players point of view?
Possibly he have given him a chance a lot sooner.
Saliba was better then what we had for many years before he was given his chance.
Arteta many have got this wrong.
Dan
Careful Dan, you will get slagged for trlling it as it is.
Telling
Reggie, I do think loaning him out was the correct move.
Maybe, maybe not but the way he was treated on his return to Arsenal each summer was poor. I dont know if he feels any better now ir not but the scars are there and he was not valued by Arteta at that time.
@Reggie,these are the same people who gave MA credit for Balogun choosing to go out on loan at Reims.when in fact this was Balogun’s decision,the same way it was Saliba who decided on OM after speaking to their manager at the time(Saliba’s own words).
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Funny how 2 things seems to be “overlooked” here:
1) Saliba has himself expressed how happy he is at Arsenal back in January. Would he do that, if he was truly unhappy with Arteta?
2) As I understand it, Arteta refused to insert an option to buy, when he was loaned out, because Arteta wanted to keep him in the long term
All this nonsense about “favouritism” is really only coming from more or less the same corners, that were always trying to undermine Arteta.
1) My mates mrs said she wasn’t having an affair. She was
2)Saliba didn’t want to go on loan, he wanted to stay and fight for his place. Arteta signed White and told Saliba to find a team to loan him out.
Look whatever people try to say, i was told a long while ago, there was a problem between Saliba and shall we say Arsenal. There was and it wasn’t insignificant. If there isnt now, Saliba will sign. If there is and Saliba isn’t happy, he will be sold.
Arteta loaned Saliba out, because he didn’t think he was ready for the physical game in England, and as Arsenal didn’t have European games to develop him in, it was the best way to develop him. That has been well and truly proven as a clever move.
If Saliba is sold to PSG, I see it as he and/or his agent see a possibility for a larger paycheck.
Also, as he is French, he may feel a desire to play for the biggest club in his home country. Just like players of all nationalities.
If Arsenal can keep him against these odds and without paying much more than what is sensible, it will be remarkable feat.
For some reason a number of people are looking to blame ‘someone’ at Arsenal, mainly the manager, for this situation. The fact that Saliba has now progressed to being the great player he is, largely due to the loan spells, is conveniently overlooked by those with some kind of axe to grind.
Saliba is to some extent behaving this way because he knew he was the stone that the builder refused.
Mikel the builder rejected PEA, Ozil, Kolasinac, Mustafi, Guendozi, has anyone heard of them? Laca, Willock, Iwobi, Leno – good lads but poor skills for a top top team and manager like Laca (I continue wishing them luck)Mikel will dump lads not fitting into his scheme and I wish them luck too as they helped us to finish second best.
Saliba has been a cranky kid in candy store, if he stays good for us, if he goes good for him, Mikel will continue his building activity.
Depends on how much money they throw at him ,300k a week and I can see him staying even if he doesn’t love the club or the manager .
If that’s the main reason, Saliba should leave because we don’t need a vengeful character in the squad and that means he has no respect for authority or management assessment
Aside from that, he’s made more fatal mistakes than Magalhaes and Holding this season. He struggled against Ivan Toney’s hold-up play and I bet he will also struggle if we don’t sign a dominant CF in the upcoming summer
However, I think Saliba would just like a much better salary package, better chances to win major trophies with PSG and the chance to play in his home country
Even if Saliba was fit throughout the season it’s still no guarantee Arsenal would have won the league. If he seem vengeful he should leave. Good players always come and go in a big team and there would d be opportunity for others to stake a claim. There are still good CB yet to be discovered in a not too popular league out there. It’s up to Arsenal scouts to find them.
Yes. There are other towering CBs available, such as Tapsoba and Tah
Your Tapsoba and Tah both play for Bayer Leverkusen and I’m sure they’re starters. That club finished 6th in the Bundesliga and you’re comparing them with Saliba whose presence shored up our defense and whose absence saw us collapse. Very funny
Saliba used to play for St Etienne that finished fourth in Ligue 1, before Arsenal signed him. Tapsoba is one of the best in Bundesliga, because his duel-won statistic is the highest among all Bundesliga CBs
The league table never lies. Both of them together could only make Leverkusen finish 6th. Saliba’s introduction into our team kept us top of the league till…you guessed it…he was injured and we collapsed completely. Like Jon Fox put it yesterday, Saliba is at least 75% of our outfield defense. Your Tah and Tapsoba don’t come close. Comparing them to Saliba is insulting
Maybe they just need a better system, as Saliba has at Arsenal
I agree with you gotanidea. I like Saliba but no fuss he won’t sign. Arsenal did well for him by playing him in all EPL games until he was injured. But if he he won’t sign, the club is big enough and can always attract other good CB.
Sylva – Yes I think you are right. Saliba’s injury weakened us, but even if he had been part of the team in the last few weeks I believe the same things that happened would have still happened because the whole team caved in and deteriorated drastically. It’s like they where 2-0 up at Liverpool of all places and a little voice inside them said “Bloody hell we can actually win this league, we are 2-0 up at Anfield !” That’s when they began to freeze. With all the bold talk by MA in the dressing room, they still didn’t truly BELIEVE they could win it. And so it was for the ensuing games to the point where there was a 16 point turnaround which only took about 4 weeks or so to materialise. Yes we missed Saliba, but Saliba alone could not have saved us because the entire team just lost it and I can’t think of anyone that did well in that period. In fact I think Saka’s loss of form was more crucial than losing Saliba. Just my opinion.
Well said EveGuner.
That’s why if he won’t sign no fuss Arsenal should act quick in the market. We discovered Saliba we can always discover other good CB. He featured in all Arsenal EPL game until he was injured the club did well for him. But if he has other plans, no player should be forced to sign for Arsenal the club is bigger enough to attract players.
Sylva are you Brazilian or Portuguese by any chance ?
Not at all I am a realistic African Arsenal fan @Evegunner
But not Portuguese speaking then (Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde). It’s the nama Sylva or Siva that made me wonder. You see if you were Portuguese I was going to ask you what you think of Fabio Vieira, Joao Felix and Cancelo. Anyway I can still ask you although it would be interesting to hear what a Portuguese Gunner has to say about Vieira because the poor guy gets alot of stick.
Vengeful character,fatal mistakes.. aren’t you a bit too dramatic GAI? according to MA himself,Saliba is a very mature,quiet individual/professional.he also said that Saliba showed he was ready without any fanfare but quietly. doesn’t sound like the Saliba you’ve just described,does it?
My comment is based on his interview a few years ago and what the article emphasizes
I personally think he’s a very talented CB despite his errors and should stay because of his strengths, but not at £200k+ per week. He isn’t a rare CB
They are offering to treble his wages from 40K/week to 120k/week.Eddie get 100k/week to sit on the bench.Saka is now getting 290K/week.i think he deserves more than 120k.i agree with Dan Smith,they are no mention or leaks of Ramsdale,Martinelli new wages but in the case of Saliba it’s everywhere.if you don’t think Saliba is not worth 200k,well i don’t know.just think the money needed to replace him,then the time to integrate the new player.if you want to blame someone,blame the club who by offering 100k/week to Eddie and Nelson too(the club have already made 4 offers to him) have damaged the club’s wages structure.
Saliba could only get £200k per week from Arsenal if he is a homegrown CB in England. I think he is, if I’m not mistaken
He is a rare cb, i havent seen a calmness in a cb like this in years. Hes only 22, imagine what he could do in 5 years. I would deffo give him 180k
Tzaa, Saliba did Well this season but when you consider some of his mistakes this season he isn’t an unusual CB. In world cup he didn’t play a game for France but on the bench. I rate him high based on what he has done this season for Arsenal. Giving him 200k after a season is too high in my opinion may be 150k. He needs to consistent more than a season in EPL.
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@Saimois you make me laugh.
Didn’t you notice how any player Arteta doesn’t make use of whether by benching, ostracizing, cancelling their contracts or sending on loan were called deadwood, primadonna, etc by many on here? Saliba was never spared. Even while at Marseille, I remember some here calling him primadonna and not being good enough. They used that as the reasons why Arteta was trying to do away with him
I agree.i noticed that same pattern a while back.if they have no use or want a player gone suddenly they have become all the terms you mentioned.it’s a PR thing,called character assassination to discredit the players in question.i hate it especially when it cannot be proved/backed.
I second your statement. There is an abundance of players out there. He needs to make up his mind fast.
A long history of the Club washing its hands of developing class which subsequently shows itself. Keep Balogun, use him, if Saliba’s demands are deemed too excessive then sell for £60m anyone? If £120k is too much, what does want? Tell us.
Recently Saliba was quoted as saying that he totally understood why he’d been sent back and how it helped him develop. This looks like a source from 1-2 years ago. Initially he was shaky, now he’s much more confident. I think he’ll stay, but he’ll judge it by how other 21/22 year olds are paid. Martinelli and Saka score, Saliba largely stops them at the other end. So why isn’t he worth £150,000 or more.
As so commonly in DANS pieces, he hits upon a germ, just a germ, of truth but then ,instead of attempting to give a balanced view on both sides of the argument, he plunges remorselessly on in that ONE DIRECTION ONLY.
CONSEQUENTLY, instead of the possibility of an intelligent and wide ranging piece, giving the wider,fuller picture, he, as ever, writes what turns into a one sided rant which gives a mostly false version ,his version ,of the REAL and WHOLE truth.
. WHY he does this is for him to explain.
I can only notice it and point it out, as I have done, not for the first time either, on here. To be fair to DAN , he is by now, something of an expert at being able to polarise the debate , at the cost however of drawing in sensible, considered and balanced posts from Gooners who DO see the wider picture.
@Jon Fox,can you point out in the article, where what Dan said is not factually correct??
Siamois It is apparent that the word “balance” in my post, did not come through to you.
I did not saycthat DAN wrote untruths, But that, by choosing not to write a balanced piece, he gave a deliberately misleading picture, a one sided one only.
Whereas the WHOLE TRUTH, in context, would be best served by examining ALL sides of the debate and not concentrating on only ONE sIde.
Perhaps your understanding of the FULL nuances in our ENGLISH LANGUAGE is lost on you , as you are French
I only say perhaps. But as i have always considered you an intelligent man, and therefore IF you truly understood the NUANCED post I wrote, then I would have expected you NOT to have so obviously misunderstood my plea for DAN TO WRITE A BALANCED PIECE.
@Jon Fox.i give it to you, the “balanced” picture thing flew over me!!
To expand on my bove post, theothe reside of trh picture, to my mind, would be for DAN to also point out that what he descibes as MA s keeness to dispose of player he does not see as fitting into his plans- a comment I do not even accept- as Holding, Elneny and other too who are plainly not his first choices are still in the squad. Of financial necessity only
No, I see management as that of doing the POSSIBLE, but not being able -UNLESS you are financially backed by a sports washing regime – to sell all your lesser players at once.
Nor to bring in wholesale, many top world
class stars ,in virtually no time at all, money being no object.
That is just a taster of the other side in this debate,that DAN COULD HAVE MENTIONED but chose not to do so
Is this just a coincidence that the 2 players you mentioned despite not being good enough players,are both quiet people who would never confront MA or question him.they also seem to be happy/content to be squad players.which could be the reason they’re both still here?MA turned down several offers for Mo,which would have brought money and freed a place.on the other hand Saliba like few others who are now gone,expressed his disappointment publicity?🤔
Sigh! NO, it is not a ” coincidence” at all.
What it IS, though, is simply an EXAMPLE of my contention that all non sports washing clubs are financially UNABLE TO rid themselves, in virtually no time at all, of the lesser players that all clubs have, save only MAN CITY.
IF , as you wrongly claim, MA was keen to keep those players I listed, rather than replacing them with serious, but expensive, upgrades, then surely he would have played them as first chpoice, at least at times!!
INSTEAD ,BOTH ONLY EVER PLAYED IN INJURY CRISIS. Never as first pick!
I REPEAT, management , unless backed by a sports washing regime,is financially speaking merely the art of the POSSIBLE, and not the financially impossible.
Never mentioned in DANS ARTICLE.
QUELLE SURPRISE!!
The author has never been interested in balance. He and others on this site have simply focused on whatever agenda they wish to pursue.
For some reason a number of fans seem hellbent on undermining the manager, a theme they keep returning to however tenuous the reasoning.
Then why did Mikel Arteta give Elneny a new contract Jon?
There was no necessity to do that was there?
The fact is, MA rates Elneny, while you do not.
Certainly 2 things seems to be “overlooked” in his piece:
1) Saliba has himself expressed how happy he is at Arsenal back in January. Would he do that, if he was truly unhappy with Arteta?
2) As I understand it, Arteta refused to insert an option to buy, when he was loaned out, because Arteta wanted to keep him in the long term
All this nonsense about “favouritism” is really only coming from more or less the same corners, that were always trying to undermine Arteta. As his achievements are hard to criticize new angles have to be invented.
“This is where Gooners shouldn’t live in a bubble and be able to see that the sport exists outside of England.”🎯💯
Dan is so right!!there is this arrogance from some British people when it comes to the PL? forgetting what makes the PL so great.foreign investments/players/managers…
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Champions League final – Italy/England
Europa League final – Italy/Spain
Conference League final – Italy/England
Serie A has had FOUR DIFFERENT WINNERS in the last five years
Premier League had had ONE TEAM winning four out of the last five years. Talk about a farmer’s league
What the English game has is much money which I will admit they’ve been wiser about sharing than other leagues
The EPL still remains more entertaining but is erroneously being hyped to high heavens by some, making it look like football is dead outside England
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To be fair even Italy’s best teams would stuggle to fight for 4th in the PL year in and year out. If you want to look at the league’s strength, they compare results over an extended period.
Club Elo does this completely objectively it’s not perfect but it’s far more balanced than people’s random opinions of current club rankings. It considers every team’s competitive results and then uses European competition results to gauge the relative strength of clubs’ overall performance, not just in one-off knockout games. Current top 10:
Man City
Liverpool
Bayern
Arsenal
Real Madrid
Napoli
Inter
Newcastle
Barcelona
Man United
England has 5 of the top 10 and 3 of the top 4 whilst 2 is the most any other league has in the top 2. It’s pretty obvious the strength of the league. Brighton, Villa and Brentford are ranked 16th/17th/19th as well.
then* not they
I don’t agree with your last statement Dan. I don’t think it’s about our manager getting anything wrong. He clearly wanted Saliba out and wanted his own defender. Hence we spent £50m unnecessarily at the time on Ben White. In an attempt not to say such things, we cover Arteta up and say he just made a bad judgement like everyone else while it’s obvious even to a blind man that he has favorites which he would play even if it’s detrimental to the team. The Less said of Willian the better
@ dgr8xt
Agree with you on this post. Ben White @ CB (weak in the air) was an incorrect signing when Saliba was available. He should have been brought in a year earlier. In my view we would have Champions league top 4 in the previous year.
Also, better for negotiating the contract with Saliba who is a rare talent and better than most around.
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I don’t fault Arteta for wanting to build his own squad, it’s nothing egregious. However, I do fault him for not using the talent at hand or being too quick to judge.
2 1/2 preseason games was enough to determine Saliba wasn’t good enough? Does anyone believe Saliba couldn’t beat out Mari and Mustafi in an 8th place squad out of European football?
Saliba needed to be guided and polished by a manager while playing a significant number of minutes. Marseille did a wonderful job on both accounts.
Interestingly enough I thought Arteta could have done the same with Saliba at Arsenal. Arteta can improve young players as we have seen, and Saliba was certainly better than both Mari and Mustafi both then and now.
Always thought the player was mismanaged and the club got it wrong. It happens from time to time, but wow most fans could spot his ability a mile away, a bit shocking the club loaned him so many times.
This writing is based on so much conjecture! We really don’t know for sure regarding the handling of Saliba. Sure,the writer has provided supposed statements from Saliba but has interestingly muted the statements from Arteta and the club. The writer curiously mentions the then World Champions France yet the French coach has never trusted him with a starting role. All of Konate, Upamecano,Varane and Kounde have been trusted ahead of Saliba.
“This writing is based on so much conjecture”
Completely agree. We are reading into events, probably far too much.
Didn’t saliba also lose a family member before moving to marseille? I think there’s a lot of context we aren’t all privy to.
It’s possible that this situation might be better now if it had been handled differently by arteta et al, but equally, I do believe saliba is well aware of his ability and standing, and it’s very possible he simply wants more than we’re willing or able to give him (be it money, prestige or competitiveness on a football level). If that’s the case, there’s not much we can do.
Exactly, Davi.
However, I do think he deserves more than we believe was originally offered. That said, the club will have a view on what they are prepared to go to and we will all find out in due course if Saliba finds it acceptable.
I do believe that both Saliba and Arteta didn’t handle the loan spell very well. As a young man at the start of his career, he would have been better advised to keep quiet. Arteta at the beginning of his managerial career didn’t handle the situation as well as he should and certainly not by sending Saliba out on his final loan spell without giving him a chance.
I am going with six and 2 threes on this.
Just the same as I see it too Sue..
Davi – you know the nice thing I’ve noticed lately is that posters on this site are being more and more cautious about believing the rumours that go around. Of course that may reduce the amount of arguments here, but it will encourage people to put more thought into what they print.
Might not necessarily be a positive thing for JA though. Actually I’ve just changed my mind and decided that there will always be people who put there size 10s in it without thinking.
That’s all good – even the size 10s
I tend to like Dan’s articles the most because there is always some thought that’s gone into it. Some I agree with, some I disagree with, but it’s usually interesting.
It’s only bad when people get too emotionally invested in their own viewpoint or feel the need to put others down for theirs. There’s nothing wrong with disagreement otherwise.
Davi – yes nothing wrong with disagreement, but it is how that disagreement is aired. I’ve seen abusive posts and then there are those who misunderstand a post and attack the poster unnecessarily. I am more than happy to be challenged for any view I may have, but people better not be rude to me.
This is why my favourites on this site include Gunsmoke, Indian Gunner London, Jon Fox, Marge (who unfortunately doesn’t post anymore), Herr Drier, AlanBall08, Grandad, Sylva and someone else…oh yes DAVI (who is you I believe) haha.
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The Salibre sagre is unnecessary. How can a player who was not dispensed with but given loan opportunities to develop use it against the Club? Saliba should remember the rousing welcome he received from Arsenal fans and management. When he proved himself with the opportunity given to him he was integrated with the team and he bonded well. He should not create and leave behind the impression that he harboured ill-will while playing for Arsenal because it may haunt him in future. The game of football is a business of multi-dimensional risk. Arsenal and Saliba team of negotiators should climb down to negotiate successfully real, equal and harmonious business agreement that leaves no scars behind. Such an image would serve no party any good.
The communication could have been much better Dan, though I believe it was the right decision to loan the boy out. We will never know how it could have gone if he was given a chance first time! He had lost his mother, tough time right after coming to Arsenal. But now the gaffer trusts him, he is playing a major role in the team . And in my opinion he is better stays put. He is no bigger than the club ,so if he wants out I don’t think any person will stand in his way. The club will always have options in any case
Dan, in my humble opinion this is one of the most “to the point” articles you have written. My concern is that the perceived “favouritism” towards certain players, exemplified by Willan (dgr8xt) as well as Saliba, will also impacg on Tierney, ESR and Nelson, when Arsenal hss to compete domestically and in Europe nest season. The Club cannot afford to be eliminated limply from competitions next season, as it was in 2022/23.
Ozzie, i think Saliba is one of Artetas favourites now but he wasnt and that is the problem.
That’s a difficult one to call Reggie, particularly for me as I don’t see that Arteta has favourites for any reason other than he believes he is picking the best that he can for the circumstances at the time. Having just written that and deciding not to delete it, it may bring Willian to the minds of some who I agree was mostly terrible. I don’t think personal dislike comes into it as that would be really stupid.
I’m giving Arteta the benefit of the doubt on several things that he has done over 3 plus seasons. Mostly because I could see a good manager developing and an acceptance that it was a learning curve for him, Edu and Kroenke. He is still learning but now it should be more about fine tuning. If he doesn’t cut it from next season then I’ll be more critical
Sue, To my mind the fallacy that managers have favourites who they constantly play, is for the birds. Managers may well like some players and others not so much Thia is normal and natural.
But the idea that manager do not play certain players because others are their favourites, is for simpletons.
Managers massively want to WIN MATCHES andwill do all it takes to do so. Players who do well regularly are always likely to be much appreciated by managers, just the same as thy are by fans too.
If those who do not play and so do not do as well, are not picked, then that is ONLY because they are not considered as being as likely to win as others who are picked are.
And NO OTHER REASON!
Reminds me of moody Anelka( not to be trusted). Sell him for £80 million because his value should be much higher than we paid for Wright. Then use the money to buy Kim Min-iae from Napoli who is world class. If he wants to run his contract down then drop him to the reserves for a year until his form becomes rubbish and nobody wants him anymore.
Couple years ago I was like a lone wolf shouting to any listening ears that the kid is not been treated fairly.
Having made the mistake then both the gaffer and the kid ego was too big for a compromise.
The same was said about Ozil, Auba, Guendouzi, Mav etc..
That Arteta and Arsenal will be made to regret blah blah..
Saliba is now the flavour of the man for the typical Arteta dislikers / grudge holders.
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This is very good piece by Dan on the situation, I have been saying this for years the two men ego is as the size of a macka breadfruit
Gunsnoke – you start again with the food eh ! haha. You’ll be talking yam, plantain and banana next
Just had a huge dish, lol
@Reggie is in element on this Saliba issue.
Assured us all last summer that the squad is not happy with Arteta’s personality and attude. That the young players (Saka, Martinelli etc) were uneasy with Arteta. And how Gabriel and Saliba were looking for move away. And that Juventus were confident of getting Gabriel for less than half what Arsenal and his market value was. And that that’s how desperate some of these players were to get away from authoritarian dictator Arteta. Blah blah..
Since then Gabriel, Martinelli and Saka all extended their contracts under their authoritarian tormentor (Arteta). So it’s only Saliba left out of that group.
We will wait and see on this one too to see if Mr Reggie was right all along. Lets see if the likes of Gabriel, Saka, Martinelli and Saliba all force moves away from Arsenal this summer.
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I eagerly await the club’s final decision on Saliba’s contract extension.
Are we really serious about recruiting and keeping world-class talent enabling us to compete effectively with the top clubs in the Premier League and Europe OR just another a mid-table club aiming for EUROPA qualification and the FA cup from time to time.
We shall see.
Goonster, your name should be twister because you twist everything to suit your narative. No i am not in my element. The posts about Saka and Martinelli has nothing to do with Wanting to move away at all. At the time, you twisted that as wellWhat i wrote about Gabriel and Saliba was something i was told. Juventus did make an offer for Gabriel and there was a possibility that he could have moved, he didn’t because he got a better deal at Arsenal. Saliba i was told was not happy at Arsenal and the way he was treated. I have told you before, if you are not happy to read my posts, i am more than happy if you dont. I rarely read yours and reply. And i will be more than happy if Saliba signs his contract. I dont get this in my element BS. It would great if we have Saliba on a long contract starting next season.
@Reggie.
You wrote a whole nonsense Article talking about how Gabriel wanted to join Juventus and that Juventus were confident of getting their man for less than half of his market value. Can I pull up that Article you wrote last summer? Glad it was one of the most ridiculed article I have ever seen on JA since I joined it about 9 to 10
Years ago..
I just feel like you guys need to relax. Arteta is here for the foreseeable future. He has been progressing us as a club since he joined.
You have tried everything to sh!t on him but keep failing. Constantly manufacturing all sorts of ridiculous negative stories and in most cases FAKE ones just to give yourselves any opportunity to assure us all of how terrible an individual he is. Don’t you guys get drained out by this nonstop manufactured outrage / negative you give off?. You make up stuff about the manager in order to give yourselves as many opportunities to get outraged.
The guy is here for the foreseeable future, just accept that.. Many of you still sound so bitter towards him and will jump at any opportunity to be negative. Many of you have tried your best to undermine him for more than 2 seasons now. Always trying to form a negative atmosphere.
At least wait until be becomes sh!t and then you can celebrate. But he has been building this club back up since he joined. But this seems to get some of you all irritated. You prefer negativity towards him in most cases because you already made your mind up.
Has the guy ever put Arsenal into disrepute? Why the obsessive bitterness and negativity towards him?
Smh
Good points. For some reason a number of people seem so eager to eager to undermine the manager they concoct all sorts of stories.
From reading some of the posts you would think that Arteta was actively trying to destroy the club or the careers of some players.
Goonster, you lie and twist things. Juventus WERE trying to buy Gabriel and his agents were talking. I never once said they would get him for half price. It was a fact Juve came in. You are a liar to try and get some attention. I have NO respect for people like you. You are a keyboard warrior and like to hide behind it and spew lies.
Dan it wasn’t just leak now about his demands it has been established
for some time now even before Martinelli sign, Saliba entourage was demanding a pisspot load of money.
Will not see Saliba in a Arsenal shirt again he will def be sold he’s not signing any contract and it’s payback for being loaned out when he believed he was ready to play for Arsenal after returning from the first loan spell!
Mark, Do you want to bet? Seriouslyl!!
If so, just name the amount and I’ll TAKE YOUR BET!
Just my opinion jon not a betting man as its a mugs game there is only ever one winner and its not the punter!!
Congrats for getting your second post almost entirely right. Shame about your first post though.
the loan spell is what result to worldclass, i think saliba should be thankful to AM FOR THE LOAN who knows what would have happened. Now, seeing it as pay back is wrong and looking at the state of ARSENAL at then i think AM needed something a team now that he is back game on
this is all based on some stories that may or may not be true. There may be surprise at the wage request, but if I were negotiating from a relatively strong position I am starting out high. Hell, we don’t know what the prognosis is on the back – maybe an uninjured Saliba is worth $ 1 Billion dollars (cue the Dr. Evil voice) but the back-injured Saliba is worth far less. As to the hard feelings and such, again, we don’t know.
Whatever the reason that Saliba was loaned back to France and stayed there for longer than many, myself included thought sensible, what made NO SENSE AT ALL, was keeping such WSP(way sub par) CB’S as MUSTAFI and that appalling Greek wrestler Sokratis, in our team at all and worse still, for all that ghastly time!!.
Both were utter rubbish and thats an understatement.
If the younger, less experienced Saliba was not, even back than, already many classes above both , then I WILL EAT MY HAT.
Hmmm “appalling greek wrestler” jon fox in fine form today, with a sex of humor too. Priceless!!
have you got SEX on the brain ?
sex of humor or sense of humor ….means the same to me, almost.
Really? How VERY interesting. Do tell us more!
Evgunner, Saliba treatment had nothing to with his readiness.
I was made to understand Saliba and Guendouzi spoke with one voice each was very much in defense of the other and a lots of egos was on display.
Very silly then at their age and prominence within the game
RF, you flatter me , as I did not invent that nickname for him. It was widely used by many Gooners all the time he was here and with good reason too.
Perhaps he ought to have been called Holding, as the word holding suits Holding too.
What’s all this fuss about? If Arteta/Arsenal doesn’t think Saliba, for all he did for the team last season and how we sorely missed his impact when he went down injured, in a team that pays Nketiah and offers Nelson 100k to sit on the bench, pays Saka 290k for just about the same influence as Saliba, if they don’t think he’s worth 200/250k let them sell him and see what they would get with the sales amount.
I am convinced though that Arsenal would be making a mistake selling Saliba. He’s proven, he’s young and he wants to play for us. He has mastered Arteta’s system and will be a rock for us in the Champion’s Leagur as well as the Premier League.
If we don’t keep him, I will be glad for him to go to PSG, receive 300k, win Ligue One severally, play in the CL every year. Like Arsenal, PSG may not win the CL but Saliba will have a chance to shine at his home and probably become a hero of sorts.
The only team team that will regret letting such a talented youth go (I can’t belive he’s only 22) is Arsenal.