William Saliba’s decision to snub Tottenham now magnified by Arsenal situation

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Arsenal fans have high hopes for defender William Saliba, but his season hasn’t quite gone to plan so far.

The Gunners saw Saliba return to the club this past summer, having finished a season-long loan deal at Saint-Etienne.

Saliba looks to be a fine prospect and had shown real promise in France, but he is in something of a tricky situation at Arsenal right now.

The 19-year-old was left out of Arsenal’s Europa League squad, and hasn’t made a single Premier League performance so far this term.

Saliba played in the EFL Trophy earlier this week, and it’s unclear just when he will be given a chance to shine by Mikel Arteta.

Saliba’s Arsenal predicament means he could even head out on loan in January, and the situation magnifies his decision to reject Tottenham Hotspur.

The Guardian reported in July 2019 that Tottenham had made a last-gasp move to hijack Arsenal’s £27million deal for Saliba, but he turned them down in favour of the Gunners.

In hindsight, a move to Spurs could have made sense; he would have been able to return to Tottenham from a Saint-Etienne loan, and slot in to Jose Mourinho’s squad to replace Jan Vertonghen when his contract expired.

Spurs ended up chasing a new centre back over the summer in Joe Rodon, but wouldn’t have needed to take a gamble on the Welshman if they had Saliba on board. Rodon has yet to start too, but a full Tottenham pre-season for a huge investment like Saliba could have catapulted him into contention, whereas Rodon is now playing catch-up.

It’s far too soon to say that Saliba’s move to Arsenal was a mistake, as he has plenty of time on his side, and should receive opportunities in the future with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi out of contract in 2021.

Yet some may wonder whether he would be receiving more of a shot at Tottenham, especially as Sport Bild now report that Arsenal want to sign RB Leipzig’s Ibrahima Konate – another right-footed, French centre back. If that goes through, then Saliba may well wonder if he’s made the right choice.

Hopefully, Saliba will break through under Arteta this season and live up to his price tag, but if he continues to sit on the fringes, his decision to snub Spurs may well linger in the mind.