Does David Luiz's exit hint at a chance for William Saliba?

William Saliba

Does David Luiz's exit hint at a chance for William Saliba?

By Josh Graham

David Luiz will leave Arsenal at the end of the season when his contract expires and the 34-year-old's spot in the side could be filled by William Saliba who is set to return to North London from his loan spell at Nice.

Gunners chiefs may not need to dip into the transfer market with a ready-made replacement in 20-year-old Saliba already on the books and impressing in Ligue 1.

But Mikel Arteta refused to include the youngster in his plans at the start of this season, letting him cut his teeth in the Under-23s before he departed on loan in January, and may not be convinced he is ready to step up.

Saliba should be given a shot

Big things were expected of Saliba, he was awarded the No.4 shirt last summer and featured in several pre-season friendlies before being surprisingly axed from Arteta's 25-man squads.

Saliba's talent has been clear to see across the channel and he was immediately named Nice's player of the month after his first four weeks at the club and has gone on to make 19 top-flight appearances.

Arsenal forked out around £27m for the France Under-20 international in 2019 and it is surely about time that money was put to good use by partnering him with Gabriel Magalhaes, 23.

It would be foolish for Arteta - given the torrid time he has had domestically this season - not to give that exciting duo at least a run of games with the dependable pair of Rob Holding and Pablo Mari in reserve.

Luiz's exit is no guarantee Saliba will get game time

On the other hand, Arteta would be a brave man to swap one unpredictable ace in Luiz for the unknown quantity of Saliba.

The Spanish gaffer was clearly disappointed with his youngster's progression at the start of the season and is unlikely to throw him in at the deep end next time around without Saliba excelling in training or delivering stand-out performances in cup games. 

With Arsenal at risk of missing out on qualifying for European football of any kind for the first time in 25 years, Arteta may look to steady the ship next term with a more experienced and robust centre-back like Holding given a more prominent role with Saliba again waiting in the wings. 

A chance for Saliba?

If we are honest, restoring Arsenal to the point where we are even competitive for the top four again is going to take more revolution than evolution.

And it is the perfect time to thrust Saliba into the competitive limelight and see if he can earn Arteta's trust at the back while benefitting from the opportunity afforded by Luiz's departure.

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