Arsenal defender William Saliba is reportedly willing to take a big pay cut in order to seal a move away from the club in the January transfer window.
The young Frenchman has not made the best of starts to life at the Emirates Stadium after linking up with Arsenal this summer, following his return to former club Saint-Etienne on loan last season.
MORE: Bid prepared: Arsenal set to offer €25million for transfer of classy attacker
According to French TV station Canal Plus, as reported by Foot-sur7, Saliba is now so eager to leave the Gunners this January that he’d be prepared to take a pay cut of around £90,000 a week in order to get a move.
The report suggests Saliba only wants to leave on loan, with another return to Saint-Etienne seemingly a possibility for the 19-year-old.
This is a blow for Arsenal, however, with this report clearly suggesting Saliba has quickly become unhappy and impatient with his situation in north London.
The youngster probably expected to play a lot more than he has, and some Arsenal fans may share his frustration as there is surely room in this side for an upgrade on centre-backs like David Luiz and Rob Holding.
Saliba has long looked a hugely promising young talent and Arsenal seem to be risking wasting this talent if they continue to overlook him and push him out of the club.
There is a difference between being an interesting story and a good footballer.
William Saliba was embraced by frustrated Arsenal fans as a savior because he played well for a mid-table Ligue 1 side with no expectations.
The idea that an untested teenager with a record of missing significant playing time due to injuries, as a defensive savior is silly. Arteta clearly does not think he’s ready and he’s said as much publicly, on at least two occasions. It might be that Saliba is, eventually, and elite defender, but most dominant defenders emerge over time.
Virgil van Dijk, widely considered the Premier League’s best center back played extensively for Celtic, and Southampton; as well as starring for his national team, before moving to Liverpool and booting the inconsistent Dejan Lovren to the curb.
Saliba wants to play. That’s understandable. A loan move would be a mistake. He was allowed to remain at St. Etienne and got hurt. A second season-long loan fell through for various reasons. Recriminations between St. Etienne, Arsenal and Saliba were public and nasty. Another loan move, unless it was wildly successful, would leave Saliba seriously devalued.
The club and player seem at odds, and this management team, whether it is Arteta of the behind the scenes people, have shown little ability to manage these kinds of disputes. Arsenal should accept that Saliba was yet another transfer mistake and move on by selling him in the winter.
This is one of the Arsenal’s worst traits in the post-Wenger era; the inability to manage complex personnel situations and the inability admit poor judgement and move forward. The management seems to have adopted a simplistic, my-way-or-the-highway attitude that is popular with bar stool managers but utterly at odds with the realities of managing people in the real world.
Saliba is unhappy. Arteta says he’s not ready. From what the player says, he does not accept his manager’s judgement. That signals it is time to move on. For both parties.