Bacary Sagna has supported Arsenal after they sent William Saliba out on loan to Nice, without giving him a chance to play in England.
They signed the French teenage star from Saint Etienne in the summer of 2019 and allowed him to remain with the team for the rest of the 2019/20 season.
However, that season was cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic and he returned to Arsenal ahead of this campaign.
Mikel Arteta watched him in training and decided that the defender wasn’t ready to play for the Gunners just yet.
He insisted that Saliba needed a transition year away from the club and that forced him to play for the Arsenal reserves in the first half of this season.
He then joined Nice in the last transfer window and has been in fine form at the Ligue 1 side.
He would expect to be a part of the team at the Emirates for next season and Sagna says Arsenal did the right thing by sending him out on loan because the Premier League is a serious leap for him.
Speaking exclusively to Goal, Sagna said: “I’m not surprised because he has joined the best league in the world. Being good in France is totally different to proving himself in the Premier League.
“I still have trust in him, I think he is a good player and he can adapt to Arsenal because I’ve seen him play many times.
“He is doing well at Nice and has probably been their best player. At that age you need to be playing. He has big potential and in France people know it.
“Sending him away is not a bad thing, it’s not a punishment. To me it’s clever to send him [on loan] rather than him being on the bench or not even being in the squad.”
Nothing clever about his treatment, i just hope the lad isnt scarred by his treatment. Treated awfully as far as im concerned.
I concur with your thoughts Reggie…let’s hope those scars can properly heal and he will find his way back to North London next season
Another one who agrees with you Reggie – as the player himself has indicated.