Bacary Sagna has suggested on Charles Watts’ Youtube channel that Arsenal defender William Saliba can still come good for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Saliba is yet to play for Arsenal since being signed in the summer, with Mikel Arteta clearly feeling that the youngster isn’t yet ready to make the step into the first-team.
But Sagna says that Saliba has ‘big potential’, and anyone who has watched him on his loan spell at Nice will have seen how impressive he has been.
“I’m not surprised [that Arsenal haven’t played him] because he’s joined the best league in the world,” Sagna said.
“I still have trust in him, I still think he’s a good player, because I’ve seen him play many times. I’m watching games and he’s good.
“He might need to be a bit more aggressive and be a leader, be loud.
“Sending him away is not a bad thing. To me it’s clever from the club to send him, rather than him being on the bench or not being in the squad. At that age you need to be playing and he has big potential, in France people know it.
“He’s doing well in Nice, he’s probably their best player.”
Arsenal invested a sizeable fee to sign Saliba in the summer, but he just hasn’t been able to break into their first-team.
Arteta took some criticism for failing to give Saliba a chance at the time when he was loaned out, but that seems to have died down a little now.
If Saliba is to break back into Arsenal’s squad next season he has his work cut out.
The Gunners have a host of options to play at centre-back, and may well bring in another defender over the summer transfer window.
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