Arsenal are continuing talks with William Saliba over a new and improved contract at the club, according to Fabrizio Romano in his Caught Offside column. It comes amid speculation surrounding the youngster’s future at the Emirates.
The 21-year-old joined the Gunners back in 2019 from Saint-Etienne for roughly £27million. Since then, the Frenchman has struggled to make his way into the first-team, spending three seasons out on loan, and is yet to play for the Arsenal first team.
The latest loan spell was with Marseille, who managed to finish second in Ligue 1 and confirmed a return to the Champions League. Saliba made 36 league appearances and went on to win the league’s young player of the year award, something previously given to Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni.
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However, he is now set for a return to the Emirates, with question marks surrounding his future. With Gabriel and Ben White forming a stable partnership at the back, it remains to be seen exactly where the youngster will fit in and with two years remaining on his deal, there is only further uncertainty.
Reports have suggested that Marseille are interested and prepared a £25million offer for the defender, but it appears that Mikel Arteta has made his mind up on his future. Discussing the plans for Saliba, the Spaniard said back in May to RMC Sport: “He has to come back.
“He has the experience and the necessary environment to be competitive with us. If he had stayed with us this year, with one Premier League game a week and with Ben White and Gabriel, he wouldn’t have had half the game time he had with Marseille, that’s for sure.
“In terms of his growth and what he could do next year it wouldn’t have been good. William wasn’t with us because he wouldn’t have had the playing time required to gain experience. That’s it, nothing else.”
It remains to be seen if the defender will put pen to paper with a new contract, but he could be a key figure for years to come in the backline.
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