Arsenal Facing Pressure To Cash In On Frenchman: A Massive Blow For Arteta? | OneFootball

According to The Sun, Arsenal are under pressure to sell William Saliba. The highly-talented defender, currently on loan at Marseille, has made his displeasure clear with his parent club as well as Mikel Arteta. He has no intention of returning to Emirates and would be looking forward to remaining in Ligue 1, forcing the Gunners to consider a potential sale next summer.

How Mikel Arteta Mistreated William Saliba

William Saliba was signed by Arsenal during the summer of 2019, in a €30 million deal from Saint-Etienne. Truthfully, he was not purchased by Mikel Arteta, but rather Unai Emery. As part of the agreement, the defender did play out the 2019/20 campaign on loan at ASSE.

Saliba joined the Arsenal camp for the first time last summer, this time under the leadership of Arteta. However, the Spaniard was not overly impressed by the defender’s attitude and refused to consider him as part of his first-team plans despite struggling with a lack of quality in defence.

In fact, Saliba failed to feature in even a single game for Arsenal before being shipped to OGC Nice in January 2021, on a short-term loan deal. Saliba returned to Emirates once again in the summer, but he was not selected for the club’s Premier League squad either.

Instead, the Frenchman was sent to Marseille on yet another loan deal. He joined the club alongside another Arsenal outcast in Matteo Guendouzi, who was frozen out of the first-team by Arteta due to a rift between the two.

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 08: William Saliba of Arsenal in action during the Papa John’s Trophy Second Round match between AFC Wimbledon and Arsenal U21 at Plough Lane on December 08, 2020 in Wimbledon, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)

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A Massive Blow For Arteta?

Arsenal are facing increasing pressure to cash in on William Saliba, as it is evident that the player is not happy with the Premier League giants. They might have to settle for a loss as well, given the current financial climate of Ligue 1 and across Europe right now.

Most importantly, Saliba is growing into a fine young defender under the stewardship of Jorge Sampaoli at Marseille. The Frenchman has established a formidable defensive partnership alongside Luan Peres and Duje Caleta-Car this season, with their collective contribution proving critical even in the recent draw with PSG.

Throughout his spell at OM so far, Saliba has made a solid impression with his defensive work rate and technical understanding of the game. It would have made him an ideal asset for an Arsenal team that would be desperate to move on from the likes of Rob Holding, Calum Chambers and even Pablo Mari.

Therefore, it will be a massive blow for Arsenal if they are forced to offload William Saliba next season. It will be interesting to see if they do fire Arteta before the end of the campaign, as that could convince the player to rethink his decision and potentially return to Emirates.