Arsenal defender William Saliba is reportedly set to leave Arsenal this summer having decided on a loan move to French giants Marseille.
The Frenchman, who was signed from Saint-Etienne in 2019, is yet to make his first-team debut for the Gunners having never quite been trusted by either Unai Emery or Mikel Arteta.
There were hopes from supporters that he would be granted the opportunity heading into the 2021/22 campaign with David Luiz having departed Arsenal.
However, that plan does not look like coming to fruition with The Athletic suggesting that the centre-back has assessed his options and has decided on a move to Marseille.
It is further reported that the 20-year-old has interest from around Europe including clubs in England, Spain, France, Italy and Germany, but he has elected to return to his homeland once again.
The Ligue 1 giants apparently still need to agree a deal with Saliba’s current employers but that should not be a problem with the Gunners happy to see him leave temporarily with Brighton defender Ben White expected to arrive ahead of the new campaign.
Should a deal be signed-off, the move to Marseille would be Saliba’s third loan deal away from Arsenal since signing from the club.
After an initial move, the defender was instantly loaned back to Saint-Etienne. Having then missed the first-half of the 2020/21 campaign without a place in Mikel Arteta’s squad, he then joined OGC Nice where he made 22 appearances across all competitions.
Despite having not yet made his debut for Arsenal, it is reported that Saliba remains part of the club’s long-term plans.
Gunners boss Arteta previously suggested towards the end of last season that conversations would be held over his future.
The Spaniard said: "William is our player for sure and that's the decision we're going to be taking soon. When we finish the season we will sit down and discuss the roles of every member in our squad and how they can fulfil that role.
"He's our player so he'll be back here for sure. After that, we will make a decision based on an agreement of the role each player is going to have in our squad."
