Saint-Etienne’s former academy director Philippe Guillemet has claimed that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and William Saliba previously had a few issues that have been ironed out in recent times.
Saliba joined the north Londoners back in the summer of 2019 before being immediately sent back out on loan to Saint-Etienne for one year. The young centre-back failed to make a single first-team appearance in the first half of the 2020/21 season before eventually being shipped out to Nice for the remainder of the campaign.
The Frenchman again was sent out on loan for the 2021/22 season, joining Marseille on a temporary basis, a decision that raised some eyebrows as some fans and pundits alike questioned whether or not he had a future at the Emirates Stadium. But that turned out to be the making of Saliba, who was named Ligue 1 young player of the year following a stellar campaign, returning to Arsenal and immediately forming an elite centre-back partnership alongside Gabriel Magalhaes.
Still, Guillemet has opened up about the 22-year-old's relationship with Arteta, claiming that the talented youngster had some doubts about the Gunners due to some issues with the Spaniard. Speaking to The Athletic, Guillemet said: "He loved Marseille. It was a fantastic year.
"Speaking to people close to him, he had doubts about Arsenal because there were some issues between him and the coach. Now he is happy in London.”
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Clearly, any issues the two shared have been ironed out since, with Saliba starting Arsenal's first 26 Premier League matches last season before he eventually picked up a lower back injury that ruled him out of the final 12 fixtures. There had been some speculation regarding his future at the Emirates Stadium considering he is about to enter the final 12 months of his contract with the club come the end of the month.
But talk of a move away has now been put to bed after Saliba verbally agreed to a new four-year contract with the club, football.london understands. It is a major boost for the north Londoners, who have recently tied down the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Aaron Ramsdale to new long-term deals.
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