William Saliba to get Arsenal chance following Gabriel call-up

William Saliba has completed 18 months of loan moves elsewhere and, at last, Arsenal fans may get the chance to see the Frenchman don the red and white for more than just 45 minutes against MK Dons in a friendly. The news of Gabriel’s call-up will grant him that chance.

The relationship between Saliba and Mikel Arteta is only known externally. Dissecting the manager’s decisions in terms of his development and the continued pursuit of a new right-sided centre-back doesn’t paint the picture of a man with unbridled faith in his £27m player.

While what has been said behind he scenes remains under lock and key, with the squad building being undertaken, hopefully, it’s been laid out to the 20-year-old to offer him an insight into his pathway to the first team.

Ben White looks increasingly likely to become an Arsenal player once next season kicks off, with an initial £40m knocked back and an improved £45m expected shortly. That could rise further depending on negotiations and interest elsewhere, a move that has cast some doubt over Saliba’s long-term future.

William Saliba to get Arsenal chance under Mikel Arteta in pre-season following Gabriel call-up to Brazil Olympic squad

Both superb talents, the fear is that Saliba could drop to third choice right centre-back behind White and Rob Holding – should the latter stay – but news of Gabriel’s inclusion at the 2021 Summer Olympics has presented the Frenchman with another chance to stake a claim.

With the event due to get underway on July 22 and continue through until August 7, it means Gabriel won’t be available for the Gunners’ pre-season preparations – Brazil are likely to reach the latter stages given they’re a rather decent team.

With the 2021/22 Premier League campaign kicking off one week after the football event concludes, it means Gabriel is set to miss the first few fixtures of the season. Gabriel Martinelli, however, was selected for the provisional squad but bizarrely left out of the final 18-man team.

With the news that Konstantinos Mavropanos will be leaving permanently this window to Stuttgart on a deal thought to be in the region of £7m, that will leave Arteta with White (potentially), Holding, Saliba and Pablo Mari as his central defensive options.

One man’s loss is another man’s gain. Of course, Gabriel will be rightly ecstatic to be heading to Tokyo and everyone is pleased for him.

What it does mean is that Saliba and Mari will contest the left centre-back slot, somewhere the Arsenal No. 4 has excelled at before.

This is a big opportunity for him.

Continued…

William Saliba Will Get His Chance to Impress Arteta at Arsenal

Having started in the heart of a back three for Nice following his loan move in January, the arrival of Jean-Clair Tobido in February first prompted Adrian Ursea to switch to a back four.

Saliba’s command and comfort on that side saw Todibo move to right centre-back and arguably his best form to date has all been on that side. Comfortable carrying the ball out with either foot, there is certain scope for Saliba to play on the side he is, quite possibly, most comfortable with.

Mari brings the obvious left-footed balance but given this is pre-season, there will be chances for the £27m to give the boss something to ponder over on either side.

Currently penciled in for four pre-season fixtures starting against Hibernian on July 13th and finishing with a July 28th clash in Florida, if Saliba impresses during that stint there is a very real chance he could be given a place in the side when the Gunners travel to Brentford on the opening day. It all hinges on how he does in the weeks building up.

The issue of how much trust Arteta will place in an untested young central defender still exists, however.

It’s not that he’s unwilling to place his faith in youth – the youngsters did carry the team after all – but at a crucial position such as centre-back, seeing the need to spend heavily on a more Premier League proven player like White offers a glimpse into his thoughts.

Pre-season is always an interesting period of the year and with vast changes taking place across the squad and Gabriel’s absence, the opportunity will be there for Saliba to prove Arteta he’s more trustworthy than the Spaniard believes.