Arsenal defender William Saliba could potentially leave the club on a loan in the upcoming window after constantly being overlooked by Mikel Arteta and failing to make it to their Europa League and Premier League squads.
In a strange admission by Mikel Arteta, the Spaniard confessed on Tuesday that a potential loan move for Saliba could be on the cards before adding, “He cannot be involved because he is not part of the squad. We made this decision with him and we’ll see what we do in January. We are discussing together a possible loan”.
Arteta seemed to be suggesting that Saliba could not play the tie against Manchester City because he wasn’t registered as part of Arsenal’s Premier League squad, however, he later admitted that there were plans to loan him out which is why the youngster was not currently part of their squad.
Former Arsenal forward Kevin Campbell admitted that he was bewildered by the events ongoing behind the scenes at the club.
“We still have William Saliba who has not even played and they spent a hell of a lot of money to recruit the guy. I have no idea what is going on at Arsenal but Mikel Arteta has to be ruthless in his decisions. Nobody is safe and nobody should be safe.”
The 19-year-old was signed for a fee of £27 million from Saint-Étienne by the Gunners at the start of the 2019 season, before he was loaned back to the French club for a duration of one year. Saliba seemed to be ready for first-team football from his last season with St-Étienne in the Ligue 1, after putting in several impressive performances in the league and the Europa League.
It is clearly baffling why the young Frenchman is yet to make a start under Mikel Arteta despite their terrible form in recent weeks. The handful appearances he has made so far have come with the under-23s in the Premier League 2 and the EFL Trophy, as Arteta has been accused of “freezing” him out of the first-team. Fans demanded answers from the club as defensively shaky Shkodran Mustafi was picked over Saliba in their recent cup tie against Manchester City, where the Gunners succumbed to another humiliating loss.
Given the player’s current situation at the club, several clubs across including the likes of PSV Eindhoven have enquired about a potential loan move for the 19-year-old.
In fact, certain sources report that the youngster himself is unaware of why he is yet to make his debut and feels “frustrated” and desperate to play regular first team football.
After hearing Mikel Arteta talk about the player in midweek, it does seem very likely that we will see Saliba leave the club on a loan in the winter transfer window. His former club, AS Saint-Étienne, Nice, and PSV Eindhoven seem to be the frontrunners to bring in the youngster but it is understood that Saliba will be allowed to make a choice on his final destination which will ultimately help him in his development.
