Overall, William Saliba has enjoyed a brilliant loan away from Arsenal so far.
The 20-year-old defender joined Nice on a half-season loan in January after struggling for regular football – or any football, come to think of it – under Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta during the first half of the campaign.
But Saliba is certainly proving his worth back in Ligue 1, racking up a Player of the Month award as well as a number of excellent performances.
But Sunday was an off-day, it seems.
Nice suffered a 2-0 defeat and the big centre-back didn’t seem to cover himself in glory during his 90 minutes on the field.
Not only did Saliba – a £27 million signing in 2019 – concede a silly penalty, but he also lost possession on no fewer than 12 occasions.
Last week, the former Saint-Etienne powerhouse, who earns £40,000 per week in North London, recorded a passing success rate of 99 percent, but against Dijon yesterday it was only 83 percent.
It’s worth remembering that Saliba only turned 20 a matter of weeks ago and is still very much learning his trade.
There was always going to be difficult days like this and there’ll be a lot more, but he’s learning all the time and as things stand, he’s still returning to Arsenal a much better, rounded player.
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