Arsenal: Arteta outsmarts all with William Saliba handling

Managers do not have it easy in football; don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. While they get loads of praise and tons of glory for success, so too they suffer criticism for things that others do not understand from their own perspectives looking in. For Mikel Arteta, such is the life of a boss at the Arsenal, and the William Saliba situation is a fine example of that.

Saliba was purchased back when Unai Emery was still the boss. The player was only 18 years old, and yet the Gunners gladly forked out £27m. With a sum that large for a relatively unproven teenager it constituted a sizeable gamble, and one that, in the seasons since, has had Gunners everywhere huffing and puffing as much as anything else.

He has still yet to play for the club that bought him some two years and three months ago, spending time back at his childhood club, St. Etienne, OGC Nice, and now Marseille, where he is owning his craft and gaining first-team starts and experience.

While Arteta and company have won the FA Cup and Community Shield since he took over, that seems like a bit ago; with no European competition this year, pressure was always going to be on the boss, no matter the steps we have taken as a club since he took the reins.

Arsenal: Arteta has outsmarted us all with his handling of William Saliba, who is a masterwork in progress during his superb loan spell at Marseille

When Saliba was sent out to Marseille this summer – even as it looked as though he must now, surely, be ready to contribute to the backline of Arsenal’s defense – supporters sounded their angst more than ever and asked how this could once again be the case? How is it that Saliba could not warrant a place in the squad?

I was one of these individuals, and so can say from experience that they exist. I truly couldn’t understand it. Until quite recently, that is.

Seeing and reading how well he is doing with Marseille this season, against some of the greatest players in the world, has it all starting to make sense. While the whispers of his talent had been growing louder as Saliba went from St. Etienne to the Nice, it has been this move to Marseille that has shed light upon the strategy of Arteta, as well as how well that strategy is going to pay off for both defender and his parent club.

Sending Saliba back to St. Etienne was smart when it was agreed by both clubs, and after he came to London and saw no first-team action, it was clear that a plan was emerging, although not unless you knew what the plan already was beforehand.

Nice was a good step up for him, as the team he joined was stronger, and more competitive. While folks would’ve then believed the center-back was ready for a spot in the first-team rotation at Arsenal, those folks were not suspecting that there was likely one final level to go up in Ligue 1.

Marseille is a good quality side and one that, unlike his previous two French clubs, believes that it should be winning trophies too. Saliba is not only starting for them this season, but he is making a real difference, and is being hailed as a superstar-level talent, even playing in what is sometimes derisively referred to as a “farmer’s league.”

But this is so wrong. What Saliba is embarking on is different. And it’s working.

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