William Saliba hasn’t had the best time of it since he’s been at Arsenal, failing to force his way into Mikel Arteta’s plans.
The 19-year-old clearly has a future in the game, but in order to achieve his ambitions, a loan move away seemed the most appropriate next step in his career at this stage.
To that end, Arsenal have allowed the player to head to Nice until the end of the 2020/21 season.
However, it’s clear that the north Londoners see his future with them.
“William Saliba is a player with a huge amount of talent and potential,” sporting director, Edu, said to the official Arsenal website.
“We’re confident he will have a great career with us but we must remember that he is still only 19 years old and has a lot of time ahead of him.
“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.
“So together with William, we have decided that spending the rest of the season on loan with Nice is the best way for him to develop.
“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.”
Come the summer time, Mikel Arteta can reset and take stock of what has been, to this point, a topsy-turvy campaign for his side.
Three wins on the bounce have given the supporters something to cheer, but in many games before the festive period, Arsenal have looked flat and out of ideas.
Depending who stays and who goes, Saliba may well be given his chance at the Emirates Stadium from the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign.