Thierry Henry has been speaking to Amazon Prime about William Saliba, and the Arsenal legend is not happy with Mikel Arteta.
What’s the story?
Well, it’s safe to say Henry thinks Arteta should’ve kept Saliba at Arsenal, rather than loan him out to Marseille.
The 44-year-old said: “They didn’t even let him make a mistake. He left before an error. He didn’t even have the chance to compete for his place. What I know is that he could have been in the Arsenal group. I am not Mikel Arteta, but I found it difficult for him.”
Clearly, Henry would’ve kept the France international in north London if he was holding the reins at the Emirates Stadium.
So far this season, Saliba – who is a target for Atlético Madrid – has made a whopping 49 appearances for Marseille across all competitions.
Jorge Sampaoli clearly views him as a key player, and the 21-year-old’s efforts have even landed him international recognition with France, earning two caps so far.
In that respect, you may struggle to disagree with Henry – it does seem as if Saliba is more than ready to become a member of the first-team at Arsenal.
However, we believe Arteta is making the right decision.
Arsenal are using William Saliba wisely
In our view, Arteta’s treatment of Saliba has done wonders for his development.
Had the Spaniard kept the £27m man in north London, but left him on the bench behind Ben White and Gabriel Magalhães, then Saliba could’ve grown frustrated and disillusioned.
Crucially, the Frenchman – who some at London Colney believe is overhyped – also wouldn’t be getting the first-team football his development requires.
However, across loan spells at Saint-Etienne, OGC Nice and Marseille, Saliba has 107 senior appearances, which is a brilliant amount of first-team football for a 21-year-old.
As aforesaid, he has also become a full international for the reigning champions of the world, which is no small achievement whatsoever.
Of course, we will agree with Henry if Arteta doesn’t find a way to implement the centre-back at Arsenal next season.
However, as things stand, we believe the Spaniard has played the situation perfectly.
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