Mikel Arteta’s decision to not play Arsenal defender William Saliba has left club legend Martin Keown “baffled”.
The Gunners have put in some strong defensive performances so far this season, letting in just five goals in six games across all competitions.
This has been achieved by defenders such as veteran David Luiz and new arrival Gabriel Magalhaes.
But fans have surprised to see Saliba, who spent last season on loan at former club Saint-Etienne following a £27m transfer last summer.
It led to the 19-year-old being linked with another loan move away before a failed deadline-day move saw the centre-back remain in north London.
And Keown, who won three Premier League titles with Arsenal in more than 400 appearances at the back, has been left mystified by the whole ordeal.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the 54-year-old said: “It’s bizarre. We’ve just not seen the kid.
“You want to see him to see how he performs say in the Championship to see if he’s good enough.
“I’m anxious to see. The feeling was that this was going to be the one. Gabriel has come in and been an outstanding signing.
“Maybe they feel he’s too young and want him to go out to pastures new.
“To then loan him out when there was a real problem there last season seems a real mystery.”
Arteta spoke about Saliba, who was out for three months last season due to injury, and suggested he may not be in action any time soon.
“I think William is doing really well," the Spaniard said in September.
"He is adapting to the country, adapting to our club.
“We have to bear in mind that he had a really challenging season last year with the amount of injuries that he had.
“But he is a player that is going to be really important in our future, things sometimes take some time and we have to respect that.
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