Arsenal defender, William Saliba, has recently been linked with both an exit and an extended stay at the club. It follows an impressive loan spell at Marseille last season, although his return to the Emirates raises many doubts about his position in the team,
The 21-year-old won the Ligue 1 Young Player of the season award, which had previously gone to players like Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni, and helped the French team in qualifying for the Champions League last season.
The center back has also been called up to the senior French national squad, but his spot in the team is still up for grabs because he still has two years left on his Arsenal contract and has Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White to beat out at the back.
His agent has reportedly been in London as discussions about a potential contract extension are in progress, and not just for meetings with the Gunners. That’s because, according to Fabrizio Romano, his representative had dinner with the president of Marseille, Pablo Longoria.
Although the purpose of the meeting wasn’t specific, it might indicate that the French club, which has made no secret of its desire for Saliba to return, will make another move. Despite the uncertainty surrounding his status at the moment, Mikel Arteta has already made it clear what he thinks of the young player going into next season.
After a decisive 4-0 preseason win against London rival Chelsea, the Spaniard spoke about the defender “I’m particularly happy to see him playing the way he is, how he has adapted into the team, and how mature he has become at the age of 21. Keep up the good work. He has tremendous potential, is already a great talent, and we need to continue to improve him.”
After that, when asked if he was prepared to take on the upcoming challenge. Arteta said, “He looked ready to me today.” It demonstrates the manager’s obvious intentions to retain a highly talented defender who might progress from being dropped to the youth team to becoming a regular for years to come.
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