Arsenal consider William Saliba sale in huge development

William Saliba Set to Leave Arsenal in Summer Transfer Window

In this instance you have to feel for the player. Above all else.

Saliba, a boyhood Arsenal fan, secured his dream move two years ago and not one person with any affiliation to the club could have envisaged it going this dreadfully wrong for the young defender.

Signed as a prodigy, Arsenal wanted him to join the club immediately, before reluctantly (it seemed) accepting a loan back to his former side.

He cost £27m. How have the club managed to make such an outstanding mistake with this transfer? How his time at Arsenal during Arteta’s reign has been handled has been appalling. If he was a disruptive influence, Arteta should have said. You’d offer him more backing if he provided a reason. If the 20-year-old wasn’t up to the standard required then he should have had another season-long loan sanctioned in the summer.

No such move materialised, he wasn’t even selected for the Europa League squad ahead of injured players and he went back out on loan to Nice. There, as expected, he excelled and at last it was felt his time at Arsenal could finally begin.

However, seeing the club prepared to splash £50m on a player for his position understandably has caused him to rethink. Who wouldn’t? After all he’s not had a chance at senior level. At this stage he has to put his career first and there will be no shortage of suitors for a defender perfectly crafted for the modern game.

The issue is, he isn’t perfectly designed for Arteta. Fans have allowed themselves to get too attached to Saliba without seeing him even play, perhaps because the deal itself was a signal of a new future at the club, and his Arsenal adoration coupled with the fee spent helped endear him to supporters. What has happened behind the scenes isn’t known, yet every report out of France hailed his ability.

At the end of the day though, if the manager doesn’t fancy him, he won’t play him. Without seeing him kick a ball there is this huge attachment to him, beyond him being a kid it’s that every single angle you view this deal from has been mismanaged. From start to finish.

A complete mess from top to bottom, if the best thing for Saliba’s career is a loan move with an obligation to buy or a straight sale, he has to take it. He’ll want to go soon enough, you’d imagine.