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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Jake Polden

William Saliba 'wants to leave Arsenal' and transfer bidding war is expected

William Saliba is reportedly ready to leave Arsenal - and a transfer bidding war is expected to take place this January window.

The defender joined the Gunners at the start of the season after agreeing terms during the 2018-2019 campaign, but was immediately frozen out by Mikel Arteta.

Saliba has only got minutes in the Premier League 2 and EFL Trophy for Arsenal, and has been linked with a move away before making a single senior appearance.

According to L'Equipe, via Sport Witness, Saliba is now open to the prospect of leaving Arsenal this month for regular football elsewhere.

Competition is said to be fierce for the centre-back, with clubs in England, France, Holland and Germany all keen to make a bid.

William Saliba is reportedly ready to leave Arsenal (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

It's unclear at this point whether Arsenal will look to part company with Saliba on a permanent basis, or if they'll look to loan him out.

Saliba was considered a better prospect than Wesley Fofana, who joined Leicester City in the summer for £30million, at Saint-Etienne.

But while Fofana has gone from strength to strength in Brendan Rodgers' high-flying Foxes side, Saliba is out of favour at struggling Arsenal.

Saliba was immediately frozen out at Arsenal by Mikel Arteta (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arteta has a number of big decisions to make this January, in what could be a make or break transfer window for the Arsenal boss.

Mesut Ozil is another player Arteta needs to make a decision on as the Spaniard looks to both trim the deadwood at Arsenal and strengthen his midfield.

Will Mikel Arteta still be Arsenal boss come the end of the season? Have your say here.

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