Mikel Arteta insists William Saliba "has to come back" to Arsenal as he plans to reintegrate the defender into his side next season.
Saliba has excelled on loan at Marseille this season and was named Ligue 1's Young Player of the Year, but his future has been up in the air after the player said he would like to extend his stay in the south of France.
Arsenal fans are desperate for Saliba to be given a chance in the first team, but the fact he has yet to make a competitive appearance after the club shelled out £27million three years ago has added fuel to the fire that he is surplus to requirements at the Emirates.
But Arteta has poured cold water over those flames by confirming Saliba will return to north London this summer when his loan spell at Marseille expires next month. The Spaniard insists the stopper can be "competitive" for Arsenal next season and doesn't regret his decision to send him out on loan as he couldn't have offered him the same amount of playing time he has received in France.
Arteta told RMC Sport : "He has to come back. He has the experience and the environment necessary to be competitive with us. If he had stayed with us this year, with a match of Premier League a week, with Ben White and Gabriel, he wouldn't have had half the playing time he had with Marseille, that's for sure.
"For his growth and what he can do next season that wouldn't have been good. William wasn't with us because he wouldn't have had the playing time to gain experience. That's it, there's nothing else. We made the right decision."
Saliba has been coy on his future at the Emirates given his lack of playing time and insists he wants to return to Marseille to play in the Champions League after the French side pipped Monaco to second place with a 4-0 win over Strasbourg.
Speaking after Marseille’s emphatic win on Saturday, Saliba said: ‘I want to come back and play the Champions League. I have never played in it and I want to discover it here.’"
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As Saliba picked up the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award last Sunday, he said: "It's an honour, a source of pride. I dedicate this trophy to my teammates, my club and the supporters. Did I play my last match with OM? I don't know. The future will tell us. The most important thing is to confirm this good season by qualifying for the Champions League. Afterwards, we'll see."
Arsenal inadvertently let it slip that Saliba would return to his parent club as the number two strip was left vacant in their kit launch. Hector Bellerin wore the jersey before he left for Real Betis on loan but he has not retained it which means the Spaniard is likely to depart the club before the end of the transfer window
Meanwhile, Saliba donned the number two all season for Marseille and as Ben White now wears his former number four shirt, it suggests number two has been left vacant for Saliba to take next season.
