William Saliba will reportedly return to Arsenal at the end of this season once his loan spell with Olympique Marseille comes to an end.
According to Football London, the 20-year-old centre-back intends to come back to north London once his short-term move to the Ligue 1 side is over. Saliba has enjoyed a successful season with Marseille, with the defender playing 27 matches this campaign.
Saliba, who joined Arsenal in 2019 for a reported £27m as per BBC Sport, is yet to play a single professional minute for the Gunners since joining from Saint-Etienne. Indeed, the defender’s future has been rumoured for some time to be away from north London.
However, as per Football London, Saliba now intends to return to north London at the end of this season, where the defender will likely play a part in the Gunners first-team three years since joining the club.
The news will come as a huge relief to both supporters and Mikel Arteta, with La Provence reporting that Saliba was considering staying with Marseille should the French giants clinch a UEFA Champions League spot in the table.
Indeed, it would have been a blow for the Gunners to lose out on one of Europe’s most promising defenders. However, it now looks like Arsenal will see Saliba return to north London this summer, and it could be huge for the club.
Saliba can play key role in Arsenal’s future despite lack of opportunities
With Marseille teammate Pape Gueye lauding that the defender has a ‘huge future’ as per Foot Mercato, Saliba returning to Arsenal is huge news for the Gunners and their aspirations for next season.
Whilst Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White have been solid for the Gunners, there’s no doubt that Saliba has the quality and potential to also feature for Arsenal in the defence. And this will be a decision Arteta has to think about long and hard ahead of next season.
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