Wesley Fofana celebrated William Saliba's loan switch to Nice by declaring his former teammate was "finally free" of Arsenal on social media.
Saliba has been shipped back to France on a temporary basis after failing to force his way into Mikel Arteta's first-team plans.
The 19-year-old cost Arsenal £27million last summer, before spending a season back on loan at St.Etienne, where he played alongside Fofana previously.
But while Fofana has been thriving at Leicester, Saliba is yet to even make his debut for Arsenal amid increasing uncertainty over his future.
Arsenal are hopeful the loan move at Nice will ready him for senior action, but Fofana's comments suggest Saliba may not have any intentions of going back.
“He is finally free,” the Foxes centre-back wrote in his congratulations to Saliba on Instagram.
Saliba had caused a stir on social media himself last month when he messaged fellow Arsenal outcast Matteo Guendouzi and complained of feeling "locked up".
Ex-Man Utd defender has now slammed Arsenal's signing of Saliba as "a waste of money", but Gunners technical director Edu insists the youngster may still have a part to play in the future.
“William Saliba is a player with a huge amount of talent and potential. We’re confident he will have a great career with us but we must remember that he is still only 19 years old and has a lot of time ahead of him," Edu said.
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“William experienced a very challenging time last year, with his playing time limited by injury and the early ending of the Ligue 1 season due to the pandemic.
“So together with William, we have decided that spending the rest of the season on loan with Nice is the best way for him to develop.
“We will be keeping in close contact with William during his time with Nice and look forward to seeing him make good progress until the end of the season.”
