Mikel Arteta simply has to take a serious look at Arsenal’s William Saliba this summer amid news from France today.
Saliba was loaned to Nice in January after failing to play a single minute in any competition for Arsenal during the first half of the season.
The 20-year-old joined for £27 million two years ago – under Unai Emery – and still hasn’t made his senior debut for the Gunners.
He is coming back this summer but who knows for how long, after L’Equipe reported that Marseille could sign him on loan.
On Monday it was announced that Saliba was nominated for the fans’ Ligue 1 Team of the Season.
It’s quite an incredible feat when you consider the fact that he was only there for five months.
But he made a big impact and that fact, coupled with how impressed the fans of French football have been, mean the Arsenal boss would be wise to keep an open mind with regards to the defender’s future.
Here’s how some fans of the North London club reacted to this development:
Protect your investment
Saliba is a 6’4 powerhouse and has quite a lot of composure, not to mention a superb reading of the game already.
There’s clearly a reason as to why Arteta doesn’t rate him but the Spaniard must keep the bigger picture in mind.
Just because he doesn’t fancy the player now, it doesn’t mean that he won’t feel the same in a couple of years.
After all, he is a £27 million investment and the first rule of business is protecting your investment.
It’s too early for Arsenal to pull the plug on this Saliba project – far too early.
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