Some Arsenal fans laud ‘masterstroke’ signing as coach says Arteta has ‘future great’ out on loan

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Olympique Marseille manager Jorge Sampaoli has lauded Arsenal defender William Saliba after his strong start to the season.

Speaking to the French press via the Metro, the Ligue 1 coach waxed lyrical about the on-loan centre-back. Marseille signed Saliba in the summer for the season after Arsenal spent £50m on Ben White.

And the decision to loan out Saliba has proven to be a smart one, with Sampaoli starting the 20-year-old defender in every game so far this season. The defender joined the Emirates Stadium side in 2019 from Saint-Etienne.

Moreover, Saliba has played every minute this campaign, and Sampaoli has big things imagined for the Arsenal defender in the future. The centre-back is expected to return to north London next season.

Sampaoli said: “We were lucky to get him on loan, it wasn’t simple. He’s great at marking, but good at bringing the ball out too. He’s a future great of French football, he’s very good at starting plays.”

Indeed, with Sampaoli a respected manager in Europe, this is some high praise from the Marseille coach. The future of Saliba is likely to be at Arsenal if he continues this level of form in Ligue 1.

And on social media, Arsenal fans loved what Sampaoli had to say about Saliba. Supporters are eager for the defender to succeed and to return to north London as a first-team player.

Here’s what some Arsenal fans had to say on Twitter about the Marseille manager’s comments on Saliba…