Marseille president Pablo Longoria will continue his attempts to talk to Arsenal about a permanent deal for defender Saliba, despite Mikel Arteta’s recent comments that he will get a chance to earn a first-team spot with the Premier League club this season. Arsenal defender Saliba has reportedly informed Marseille of his desire to remain with Marseille despite returning for a senior role with the Gunners. Saliba, 21, impressed Marseille last year, and there was speculation that he might stay permanently in France, but Arteta has brought the Frenchman back to his team for the forthcoming campaign. Saliba was permitted to join Marseille on loan for the 2021–22 season after failing to convince Mikel Arteta during preseason training last summer. Saliba excelled while playing for Marseille, winning the Young Player of the Year award in Ligue 1 and being named to the division’s Team of the Year.

Saliba was acquired by Arsenal for £27 million in 2019 from Saint-Etienne. Since then, he has gone out on loan three times and has made an impression each time. Despite Saliba’s talent, Arsenal supporters have never witnessed him play in a competitive match while donning the illustrious red and white. Arteta just didn’t believe he was prepared, but things appear to have changed today.

William Saliba

Saliba is an aggressive defender who prefers to break from his position and intercept the ball from an attacking player compared to remaining in place and attempting to lead the action back in the direction it was planned. He creatively arranges himself to apply his body to get opponents out of the way of the game so he may grab the ball. This quality is much needed in the Primer League as many world-class attackers try and carry the ball in the box. Arsenal trying to qualify for the UCL will be supported by such players who will give their best to win the individual battle on the field. The critical thing about Saliba is he does not commit a lot of fouls which will help the Gunners as they have a terrible history of getting Red Cards. Saliba may not be exposed as much for Arsenal, but the fact that the Frenchman can compete in a foot battle may give Arteta some comfort. The Spaniard has a lot of talent to work with when Saliba plays with them.

Prior to the 2022–23 season, Mikel Arteta has reinforced his team, although there may yet be more deals in north London to close before the deadline on September 1. Youri Tielemans being one of them, Arteta will look to get this deal done very quickly as they now gear up to start their PL run. Arsenal plays Crystal Palace in the first game of the season.