Arsenal have been praised for keeping William Saliba this summer after his excellent form since returning to the club on loan this summer.
It had been a rocky start for Saliba at Arsenal, with the French youngster signed by Saint-Etienne in 2019 but sent back on loan to the Ligue 1 club immediately before returning to France with Nice and then the Marseilles.
The 21-year-old was particularly impressive when he was on loan at Marseille last season, and Fabrizio Romano has revealed that this led to some discussions about keeping him on a permanent basis.
Writing in his exclusive column CaughtOffside, Romano says that Marseille spoke to Saliba’s agent about this possibility, although Arsenal never entered into concrete talks because their position was clear: Saliba was not for sale.
“Olympique de Marseille had a direct meeting with Saliba’s agent in August, but then it was impossible to negotiate the fee with Arsenal because they considered William untouchable. It wasn’t even a direct conversation,” Romano said.
“There were French clubs following Saliba when he was at Saint-Etienne, but Arsenal have been excellent as they trusted him from day one and the contract talks will take place at the right time.”
Clearly this was a good move by Arsenal as they are now reaping the benefits of having this young centre-back in their starting XI, with Saliba undoubtedly one of the league’s leading players of the season so far.
More stories / Last News
The French international was back in excellent form yesterday to help Mikel Arteta’s side beat rivals Tottenham 3-1 in the North London Derby at the Emirates Stadium.
Goals from Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka gave Arsenal all three points, and will ensure the Gunners once again finish the weekend at least a point clear at the top of the Premier League table.
