It was widely expected that William Saliba would challenge for a first team place at Arsenal this season, but it’s clear that Mikel Arteta doesn’t trust him and feels he needs to gain more experience before getting into the side.
Playing U23 football isn’t ideal for his long term development because he’s clearly too good for that level, but he did show last night that he is prone to making bad decisions that could cost the team.
He was sent off in the EFL Trophy defeat to AFC Wimbledon, and it’s a poor decision to dive in like this when he’s on a yellow:
William Saliba picked up a second yellow card for this tackle in the u21 game last night.
Bit harsh https://t.co/0FmA7FZLBD pic.twitter.com/rCn0fK02t0
— TheSecretScout (@TheSecretScout_) December 9, 2020
Pictures from EFL Trophy
He’s unfortunate to slip and it’s clear he just panics and tries to win the ball back as soon as he can, but it’s moments like this which will prevent Arteta giving him regular chances in the senior setup.