Arsenal make William Saliba and Mavropanos transfer decision

You can list the number of Arsenal players who’ve left on loan and had successful spells elsewhere on one hand. That has changed this season for players both closer to home and abroad, with defensive duo William Saliba and Konstantinos Mavropanos the standout pair.

David Luiz’s untimely injury left Arsenal with just one spare right-sided central defender in Rob Holding, and while the Englishman is a good option for the position, he has two teammates waiting in the wings to provide him with genuine competition next season.

William Saliba, with just one first team bench appearance to his name at Arsenal, has been in outstanding form for OGC Nice since joining in January.

Aged just 20 years old, he’s provided stability and leadership in the heart of the French side’s defence, and his temporary club’s form has drastically improved. The centre-back has truly flourished with regular minutes under his belt. Who’d have thought?

Arsenal make William Saliba and Konstantinos Mavropanos transfer decision ahead of summer window

About 500 miles north, Konstantinos Mavropanos is garnering similar levels of praise. The Greek international has come in to newly promoted Stuttgart side and helped lead them to the dizzying comfort of mid-table, catching Mikel Arteta’s eye in the process, who was set to reassess his position in the coming pre-season.

However, as per football.london, a decision has been made on both players heading into the summer transfer window. As expected, £27m signing Saliba will return to north London where he will be reintegrated into the first team setup, while Mavropanos will once again depart the club.

This could be in either a loan or permanent capacity, but it appears Arteta has made his mind up when it comes to who he wants for the position in 2021/22.

Mavropanos will have another two years left to run on his deal come the end of the season, which is regularly seen as the prime time to make a transfer decision. Having caught the gaze of sides across the continent, and needing to fund a major squad overhaul, a sale would make most sense.

If it is to be a loan, then Arsenal would have to ensure it is with an obligation to buy as they can’t risk his value decreasing any further with another 12 months knocked off his contract length.

Stuttgart have stated while they’d love to keep him on financially it doesn’t appear viable, thus it will be interesting to see which sides have been most smitten by the 23-year-old’s displays.

Arsenal specifically tied Mavropanos down on a long-term deal before loaning him out to put themselves in a position where he could either garner a profit or have improved enough to be a regular feature in the squad. With the depth of Saliba, Holding and regular speculation linking them with another centre-back, the former of those options is the wise call.