Things have quickly turned sour for William Saliba at Arsenal.
After the youngster had spent a season on loan at St Etienne, it was expected that he would return to the north Londoners and, at the very least, provide competition for those in his position.
However, Mikel Arteta has made it quite clear that Saliba has no future at the club, at least not whilst he’s in charge.
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According to the Daily Mirror, since returning, the 19-year-old has yet to play a single minute for the first-team and also managed to get himself red carded in the Papa Johns Trophy whilst playing for Arsenal’s U21 team in midweek.
It appears that Arteta doesn’t believe that Saliba is at the required standard for the club at this point, with Eurosport speculating upon a January loan deal which could suit all parties.
“Whenever we have the spaces and we believe that he’s ready to play with us,” the Daily Mirror quote the Spaniard as saying in relation to how quickly Saliba could play with the first-team.
“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.”
It’s good to see a manager being backed by the board over various decisions, as it means he can come at situations such as this one from a position of strength.
No soft touch, players are clearly going to have to earn their playing rewards by getting their heads down and working hard.
play hIm
Arteta, please remember that you are a young and inexperience coach and Arsenal have trusted you to manage one of Europe’s biggest clubs. Now, you must do the same and trust some of Arsenals brightest young talents like Nelson, Bolagun, Saliba, Azeez, Willock ,AMN and ERS with opportunities to play in the premier league. You keep selecting the same players like Willian, Xhaha, Ceballos, Lacazette and Aubameyang for premier league games and expect a different result, despite their lack of form. It is time to do things differently, bring in some of the top performers from the Europa cup league squad, like Pepe,Elneny, Willock and Bolagun. Yes,give them a run of at least 3 games. Your regulars are burnt out in their legs and ideas. No creativity, no goals and 15th in the premier league table. Forget about the young players inexperience, that comes by playing games. Think about their skills, pace, potential, enthusiasm and desire to make a name for themselves, which have driven their performances, when given an opportunity. A team can only win matches by scoring goals. Think about the attacking aspects of our game. It is time to strike that balance and do better.