William Saliba continues to draw attention from the Arsenal fan base as he plays through his third loan spell since joining the club for a significant fee back in 2018.
The French youth international has impressed since arriving in France and has arguably been Marseille’s best defender under Jorge Sampaoli. Despite his young age, his passing and the progressive movement have made the Arsenal loanee a very influential player in the Chilean’s side.
Saliba lined up against one of Europe’s best attacks in PSG on Sunday evening and was crucial in keeping a clean sheet. His last-ditch tackle on Kylian Mbappe helped secure a strong point in Le Classique.
The potent quartet of Neymar, Mbappe, Angel di Maria and Lionel Messi all started but were unable to create more than 10 shooting opportunities in comparison to OM’s 14. The Stade Velodrome enjoyed a battling display from their side, largely due to Saliba’s involvement.
However, the Frenchman clearly did not impress every onlooker. In the commentary, Jonathan Pearce commented regarding Saliba’s readiness to play in the Premier League for Arsenal.
A comment which has since not gone down well with the Arsenal or Marseille watching communities online.
“Saliba is not ready for the Premier League. He makes too many mistakes,” Pearce was quoted saying.
In response, French football expert @JeremySmith98 replied, “I missed him saying that. Thank God. Absolute b******t.”
“Heard it. Made me laugh,” @MarseilleView Twitter account said in response to Smith’s judgement.
Saliba is clearly garnering support for his performances in France. The young defender has suffered greatly over his time whilst at Arsenal having yet to be given a chance in the senior side.
He was relegated to playing with the under 23s for the first half of the 2020/21 season after the club failed to register him in the Premier League or Europa League squad.
This, in combination with a strong showing for Nice on loan and his time at Saint Etienne, has led to strong-worded retorts from those to have watched him play consistently during his early career.
The question now returns to whether Saliba will be involved in Mikel Arteta’s squad, should he still be coach, when he returns at the end of the 2021/22 season. The 20-year-old has just 2 years remaining on his Gunners contract, so a decision needs to be made.
Yet, with the performances for Marseille this season, it is likely he will also attract plenty of interest from buying clubs in the summer.
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