William Saliba has appeared to aim a sly dig at Arsenal by claiming his loan club, Olympique Marseille is the team he needs for his development.
He hasn’t kicked a ball for Arsenal since they signed him in the summer of 2019 and he has spent only a half-season at the Emirates since then.
Marseille is the latest club to take him on loan and he has been in stunning form for them.
The French defender is happy to be on their books and he recently spoke about his time at the club.
He has enjoyed how they have started the season with some fine performances in Ligue 1 and says they will bounce back from their recent poor run of form.
His teammates have received him well and he is happy to have joined them, before adding that they are just the club that he needed to be at the moment.
“We’ve done a big start to the season, even if the three last games haven’t been positive with two losses in Ligue 1,” Saliba told L’Equipe.
“We’re going to come back to try and win. I have been welcomed really well by my teammates and the fans.
“For me, it’s a very good choice, it’s the club I needed, with a very good pressure.
“At my age, it’s good to play in a stadium like that.”
Somewhat negative reaction in your headline . Try ” Arsenal were right taking into account my personal situation to give me this season to have regular first team football ”
Different take but just as credible.
“Marseille coach is a man who recognises talent”
Equally credible headline
I think you are looking for controversy here.
But it is strange case.
We have spent so much money on him and yet he doesn’t seem to have gotten a chance to prove himself. He is also young and as such fit the “current profile”.
I see only 2 explanations.
1) In training he has shown either lack of quality or lacking in attiude, or
2) Arteta and he has got chemistries, that just don’t gel
Only explanation is that Arteta is getting rid of Emery’s players. Facts speak for themselves
Every season players come in and go out. I just don’t think that Arteta would be so daft as to deliberately move on players just because he hadn’t signed them.
The Saliba situation is an odd one. Awfully expensive for a prospect. There is possibly a lack of chemistry between the 2 men. Stayed in France rather than learn English and play on loan somewhere in the English league. Can’t fathom it at all.
“…awfully expensive for a prospect”. Yet Fofana who was being benched by the same Saliba cost more than him and because he was given a chance, he’s now one of the best young center backs in the league. And after his treatment by Arteta, why would he be willing to go through the stress of learning English so as to play for the same manager? I bet he’s fancying his chances of leaving Arsenal for France permanently. Can’t blame the guy. We’re all humans
You seem not to have realised, but Fofana is a totally different player and has no relevance whatever therefore to Salibas situation. No more than, say, Elneny does in fact!
Couldnt agree more. He should have tried for a EPL team or Championship team for loan move so that he could adapt to English conditions. Anyway, hopefully, he comes back to us much better prepared and ready to play in the EPL, I still dont get why he was not played, a bit confusing the whole situation.
Where is the dig? Seems more like yet another dig at Saliba. Let’s see what happens on his return, hopefully playing in our shirt.
Totally misleading article. All Saliba said was that Marseille is the right club for his development AT THIS TIME (in his opinion). No mention of the future. If anything this endorses Arsenal’s decision to send him there.
The reason he wasn’t sent to an English club was at the specific request of Saliba, who emphasised the advantages of guaranteed weekly starts against good quality teams plus European experience.
Why do columnists (including our own who supposedly support the club) continuously try to sow discord where there is none, in particular via emotive language and blatantly misleading headlines?
A comment from Martin would be welcome.
guy, Though I could not agree MORE with your frustration at this constant and deliberate misleading in headlines and taking player comments out of context, the answer to your question”Why do…. etc” is obvious!
This site IS run by fans . I have no doubt that Pat, Patrick and Martin ARE ALL FANS.
BUT JA is also a business and makes money for these gents. As such, we have to put up, for the foreseeable future, with these misleading( I would have preferred to use a plainer and stronger word than “misleading” but that would not be allowed by Ad PAT, so I will not use it) headlines and distorted takes on player comments.
Rather as on AFTV, which is run by another dedicated Gooner in Robbie Lyle, but who ALSO distorts -and quite deliberately so – the OVERALL reaction of fans by using, over and over again, a few foul mouthed regulars who happen to be his mates as the sites spokespersons. Not a true representation of fans views in general.
Any more than what appears on this site, from the inhouse admins personally, is a true representation of our fanbases views in GENERAL.
SOMETIMES IT IS, BUT MORE OFTEN AND FOR FINANCIAL PROFIT REASONS, IT IS NOT!
I for just one, have always known this, but despite numerous attempts to get AD PAT to admit it,I have always failed.
C’est la vie!
Once again Saliba interview was misreported and what he said taken out of context, he even admits that the loan to Marseille was exactly what he needed and that MA was right!https://www.teamtalk.com/arsenal/saliba-admits-arteta-plan-perfect-excelling-marseille-loan-spell
Well if the number of comments on the “most commented” section are anything to go by, interest in JA isnt as high as it once was. Seeing some of the headlines just make me say “pfff” and not even bother clicking on it. Thats not really running it as a business is it
MA has said on quite a few occasions that he and Saliba agreed that a loan move would benefit the player and it was agreed said player would choose the club, as long as he got regular playing time…. all these have happened.
He would hardly turn round and say he WASN’T enjoying the club he chose, would he?
I have no doubt whatsoever that Saliba will be a regular Arsenal player next year and I personally think we should be praising MA for the way he has handled SALIBA (and perhaps Martinelli?)
No danger of burnout with him, unlike Saka and ESR.
When MA took over and our defenders were making errors, we all said the same thing as you’re saying now
“I have no doubt whatsoever that Saliba will be a regular Arsenal player next year”
MA went into his first full season and did not register Saliba for the EPL or Europa League and left him to rot in the under 23s while Mustafi and Luiz were making blunders. What did we all say?
“I have no doubt whatsoever that Saliba will be a regular Arsenal player next year”
Defenders left and Arteta went to get Ben White for a whopping £50 and sent Saliba on loan and now we’re all saying what?
“I have no doubt whatsoever that Saliba will be a regular Arsenal player next year”
Get over it man. Saliba knows he won’t have a future under Arteta and he will be happy to leave the club. If what he just wanted was playing time, why not at Arsenal?
Simple – the manager didn’t think he was ready and took into account the young man’s personal issues.
That’s what is called managing the players, sorry if you don’t see it the way MA, Saliba and I see it.
So basically Saliba agrees with the reason Arsenal sent him to Marseille to develop. So where is the dig?
There is no dig. This article was written to rile some fans and generate some negative reactions.
Read the whole piece and he wasn’t at all negative. The only thing that Saliba was “mad” about was not being given a chance to compete for a spot – can’t blame him for that. Arteta thought that he wasn’t ready and decided accordingly. If anything I think that Saliba was attempting to eliminate any feelings of bad blood with his words.