William Saliba's future at Arsenal is once again a hot topic for debate.
The 19-year-old, who is regarded as one of the brightest prospects in European football, joined the Gunners for a reported £27m fee in the 2019 summer transfer window and was immediately loaned back to Saint-Etienne in order to continue his development.
However, Saliba's 2019/20 campaign didn't go as planned.
He missed the start of the season after undergoing surgery on an adductor muscle injury which kept him out of action for six weeks - and in that time he returned to London Colney for treatment.
A month after returning to action, disaster struck for the teenager during a 1-0 win over AS Monaco as he suffered a crack of the fifth metatarsal.
That turned out to be Saliba's final appearance of 2019 as there was to be another setback in April 2020 when the French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, confirmed the remainder of the Ligue 1 season had been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
As a result, Saliba's campaign ended with him making just 17 appearances across all competitions - and Mikel Arteta has already revealed the teenager didn't have the transition year that the club expected.
Therefore, the Arsenal manager has been reluctant to hand the defender a first-team debut and also left him out of his Europa League squad for the group phase.
While many supporters have been clamouring for Saliba to get a chance, Arteta has admitted that the Frenchman could be on the move in the January transfer window.
"We made that decision with him and we'll see what we're going to do in January," Arteta said after Arsenal's 4-1 defeat against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-final. "We are talking about it [loan move] yes."
With that said, there is one condition in which Arsenal could reverse any decision to send Saliba out on loan next month.
And that's if Arteta is no longer manager.
According to L'Equipe, who have described Saliba and Arsenal as a 'failed marriage' and that the teenager's 'English adventure is turning into a mess', the only way for the defender to continue at the Emirates Stadium is if there's a change of manager.
In addition, the report - as per Sport Witness - claims both parties have agreed that Saliba's situation cannot continue like the way it has and his agent is expected to hold talks with Arteta and technical director Edu regarding his immediate future.
Although the pressure is increasing on Arteta following a poor run of form in the Premier League that has left the side four points clear of the relegation zone, it would appear that his job is not under threat.
football.london reported last week that Arteta has the full backing from Arsenal owners KSE (Kroenke Sports Entertainment) and the long-term plan is to create a 'cultural overhaul' which will see a number of players leave the club over the next few months.
Barring a u-turn from owner Stan Kroenke regarding the Spaniard's position, Saliba looks set for a temporary exit in January where he will finally get some minutes under his belt.
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