William Saliba’s Arsenal comments spell transfer departure

Ben White signing on the dotted line for a fee worth £50m took some of the spotlight away from William Saliba. A fan favourite despite not having played a single minute of first team football in over two years, his Arsenal no-show is due to be extended further.

Supporters were excited at the prospect of finally seeing ‘Wilo’ in red and white. Not in the Under-23 squad or not on the bench against Leicester in his only first team squad appearance, but physically on the pitch with Mikel Arteta on the touchline.

No such luck this season as Saliba has joined Marseille on a season-long loan. When it came to light that there was no place for him in the squad this term and a move away would be sanctioned, the list of clubs eager to take the 20-year-old on was extensive.

That might have something to do with him being a very talented young central defender.

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William Saliba’s Arsenal comments spell transfer departure as defender moves to Marseille with Arteta bringing in £50m Ben White

Already it appears as if his time at Arsenal is drawing to a close. White will be the starting right centre-back for years to come with the same hoped for Gabriel alongside him, while even if Rob Holding and or Pablo Mari leave in 12 months the opportunities will be limited.

Couple that with the the lack of love shown externally to Saliba and the undoubted internal factors that fans aren’t privy to, and a sale next summer when he has two years left on his deal appears on the horizon.

In case there needed to be any more reason to doubt his long-term Arsenal future, his comments made during his first Marseille press conference said it all.

"“Marseille is one of the best clubs in France with a lot of support in Marseille and across France,” he on the club’s official website. “You have to sweat in the jersey when you’re here. “I spoke with the coach and the president [before deciding on the loan]. I was convinced. For a young person like me, it’s good to come here to improve. “I’m the one who chose to go to Marseille, they [Arsenal] preferred that I go to England, but I knew that coming here was the right choice, so I really pushed for this. We will see what will happen next season.” “I’m young, I’m 20 and I haven’t proven anything yet. I still have many aspects to fix and areas in which I can progress.”"

So, why is this worrying? Well.

Continued…