Arsenal hold crunch talks with William Saliba; What will be the outcome?
William Saliba’s agent has already had crunch talks with the Arsenal board on Tuesday evening.
The 20-year-old defender is set to miss the pre-season with the team, due to his participation in Olympics for France.
Sources close to Saliba have told Football.London that Saliba’s agent and Arsenal are ‘assessing what is best’ for the defender ahead of the new season.
The French defender made the switch to North London in 2019, for an astonishing fee of close to £30million for a teenager.
Although Arsenal won the race, ahead of European heavyweights such as Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotsp*r and Manchester United, they haven’t given him a single chance in the first team.
The young defender was loaned out for two successive seasons, and with Ben White’s arrival from Brighton looking imminent, it might just well turn out to be a third year out on loan.
Saliba, who grew up as an Arsenal fan, would clearly had not made the move to the Gunners two years back if he had foreseen things.
What was the reason behind him not making it to the Europa League squad of Arsenal, when his loan move failed to materialize? Meanwhile Shkodran Mustafi was handed the Europa League minutes, and talks of a fresh deal for the German were also held.
Are you taking the p*ss, Arsenal? Really?
At 20 years of age, there are hardly any better central defenders than Saliba. Although I understand the other side of the coin, that he was “not ready,” but same can be said of the Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
He’s had zero work experience as a coach/manager before joining Arsenal. If the Gunners were not reluctant to appoint a rookie manager in Arteta, then why are they hell-bent on not giving Saliba a few minutes here and there.
A third year out on loan would be a punch on the guts for Saliba. I would rather keep the former St. Etienne man as a third choice centerback, than offloading him again on temporary basis.
With him being a direct back up for Gabriel as well as Ben White, the French U20 International can end up featuring in several matches, come the end of the next campaign.
Having three good centerbacks is what Arsenal should aspire for. And they already have that.
Although Arteta appreciates Rob Holding, selling him makes the most sense. The former Bolton man can be sold on for a great profit, due to the fact that penned a new deal at the Emirates Stadium early this year + the usual English tax.
I would not entertain anything apart from Saliba staying put in North London for next season. The Frenchman is still regarded highly, and wanted by around a dozen clubs across Europe.
And there’s a reason behind it: he’s special.