William Saliba admits the way Arsenal handled his arrival in north London have him "a good slap".
The Frenchman was signed by Unai Emery in the summer of 2019 for £27m, but allowed to remain at St Etienne for a further season.
Rated among the best young centre-halves in France, Saliba moved to the Emirates with high expectations.
However, with Mikel Arteta now in charge having succeeded Emery, the young defender was quickly shunned.
He played for the U23s before being constantly overlooked for selection which eventually meant he headed out on loan to Nice.
Saliba admits before heading to north London he was buoyant about his possibilities but was quickly dealt a reality check.
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He said: "Before going to Arsenal, I said to myself I was going to play, I was sure, I was wondering who I would play alongside.
"I arrive, I play 0 matches. I played for the U23s. That gave me a good slap.
“Things go so fast in football. I don't want to think about the future. I am going to give my all. Then there will be discussions in summer.”
Saliba has continued to put in impressive displays in the south of France.
Arteta has continued to be quizzed on the defender, whose future in north London remains a source of speculation.
On his progress, the Arsenal boss said earlier this season: "I know that sometimes it’s difficult to explain or understand after the money that the club has spent trying to bring him in, to send him on loan.
"But a lot of things have happened to him he’s a long-term player for us and we need to protect him as well. And giving him three or four games is not enough.
"For him, he needs much more than that, because what happened in the last 18 months, he’s been through some personal problems as well that we have to try to help him and stay as close as possible to him.
"And now he needs to play, play and play and enjoy his profession as well. And in order to do that I think we found the right club with him.
"He’s very happy to go there now. Hopefully he can enjoy his football and be ready for us for next season."
Saliba's immediate problem is going to be breaking into the Arsenal back four.
Arteta invested in Gabriel in his first summer and then 12 months later invested £50m in Ben White.
The pair have formed a quick partnership at the heart of defence in front of Aaron Ramsdale.
