Should Arteta have given Saliba a chance? Reaction as defender heads to Nice

Mikel Arteta

Should Arteta have given Saliba a chance? Reaction as defender heads to Nice

Arsenal had to fight off serious competition to sign William Saliba in the summer of 2019.

A whole host of European heavyweights were interested in acquiring the centre-half, regarded as one of the brightest young talents in his position anywhere on the continent, and it was something of a coup for the Gunners to land him.

He stayed at St Etienne on loan last season to gain further experience but became part of Mikel Arteta's squad ahead of this campaign – in which he is yet to have a look in.

The 19-year-old has not yet featured for Arsenal's first team, not even in a Europa League group stage which has seen plenty of youngsters handed opportunities to impress, having been left out the squad for the competition in October.

He has been limited to two appearances for the Under-23s in the Papa John's Trophy and the second of those, against AFC Wimbledon in early December, saw the Frenchman sent off after receiving two yellow cards.

In short, he has so far not shown enough form-wise to demand a step up to Premier League action, even in a team as poor as Arsenal have been for the majority of the season.

Therefore, a temporary switch to Nice earlier this week is the perfect resolution for both player and manager, with the teenager set for regular football back in his homeland, with the hope that he returns with added maturity and ready to make the step up to the English game. 

Saliba clearly has talent – he demonstrated that in last season in Ligue 1 and the Europa League while with St Etienne, and another loan deal makes sense, as he continues to learn the game and return to Arsenal in the summer with a fresh desire to earn a regular spot.

According to David Ornstein in The Athletic, Saliba was keen on his loan switch being to another English club, although the experience at Nice will no doubt suit him well. 

Arteta had been coy about the defender's continued absence, with the Spaniard refusing to confirm or deny reports regarding his plans for the defender prior to his January switch. 

"Whenever we have the spaces and we believe that he's ready to play with us," he said recently, when asked when Saliba may be granted an opportunity.

"To be fair, he's made massive improvements in the last few months and it's been a really tricky situation for him.

"As I mentioned before, we designed a pathway for him and there were a lot of things that happened to him in his personal life and professionally as well.

"Now we've made some steps forwards, he's working really hard and played for the under-21s again."

Selling him permanently, a prospect L'Equipe reported last week as an option following a meeting between the player and the club, would have been foolish.

For a start, Arsenal were unlikely to recoup anything like the £28m they paid for him back in the summer of 2019, given his lack of competitive action since then.

It is also too early into Saliba's Arsenal career to write the move off as a failure and cut any losses. He does not turn 20 until March and he has had just a matter of months as part of the squad.

The outcry from Arsenal fans on social media when the prospect of a permanent sale arose spoke volumes. While it's true that players can become better in the eyes of fans the longer they are out the team, to sell Saliba before even granting him a first team chance is the sort of short-term decision which could easily come back and haunt Arsenal in years to come.

The ideal scenario would be for Saliba to put in a string of assured performances for his new club until the summer, before settling into Arsenal's back four upon his return, which is exactly what technical director Edu is expecting from the Frenchman.

"William experienced a very challenging time last year, with his playing time limited by injury and the early ending of the Ligue 1 season due to the pandemic," he said.

"We will be keeping in close contact with William during his time with Nice and look forward to seeing him make good progress until the end of the season."

Arsenal's recruitment process – both in terms of incomings and outgoings – has been questionable in recent years but they thought highly enough of Saliba to invest heavily in him. 

Now is not the time to throw that away because of a slow start to his time in the capital. Patience is a virtue – let's hope Arsenal show some.

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