Paul Merson has written in The Daily Star that Arsenal should sell William Saliba in the summer transfer window and does not think that the defender has a future at the Emirates Stadium.
The former Arsenal star does not think that Saliba will be able to make a mark at Arsenal.
The Sky Sports pundit thinks that the £27 million France international central defender (Sky Sports) has not done enough in training at London Colney to impress Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal told to sell William Saliba
Merson wrote in The Daily Star: “William Saliba is running out of time to prove himself at Arsenal and I think he could be sold this summer. There must be a reason he’s been loaned out three times by the club.
“Was he getting ripped in training? I don’t see why he’s still on loan otherwise. Arsenal paid a lot of money for him, but I think if anyone offers them their money back they would take it right now.”
The Sky Sports pundit added: “How long can they keep waiting for Saliba? You hear that he’s doing well in France, but that league is nowhere near as competitive as the Premier League.
“If Arsenal don’t have confidence in him to perform over here, there’s no point bringing him back from Marseille just to loan him out again. They might as well sell.”
Gunners stay
In our opinion, Arsenal manager Arteta should give Saliba at least the first half of next season to prove himself before making a decision on his long-term future.
Yes, the defender could not make a single appearance in the Premier League for Arsenal when he was at London Colney, but we should not forget that he is only 21.
If Arsenal qualify for the Champions League next season, then, in our view, the Gunners should include Saliba in their squad, at least initially – for the first half of the season.
The youngster has made 34 appearances in Ligue 1, six appearances in the Europa League and seven in the Conference League for Marseille during his loan spell this season.
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