Arsenal could be forced to cash in on Saliba as Arteta rift goes on
Arsenal could reportedly be forced to cash in on William Saliba in next summer’s transfer as his rift with Mikel Arteta shows no sign of ending.
Saliba is still yet to make his competitive debut for the Gunners since they paid Saint-Etienne a fee in the region of £27million for him in 2019.
He has seemingly fallen out of favour with Arteta, who bought Ben White in the summer to put another roadblock in front of Saliba’s path to the Arsenal side.
The Frenchman was sent on a season-long loan to Marseille ahead of the new season, with the defender going on to impress for Jorge Sampaoli’s men.
He has played all but one game for the Ligue 1 side, helping them to keep five clean sheets in all competitions.
That loan deal is scheduled to come to an end next June, with Saliba set to return to the Gunners.
But according to The Sun, Arsenal are struggling to convince Saliba that his future lies in North London.
At the heart of those struggles is his rift with Arteta, who has continually overlooked him since he replaced Unai Emery.
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Saliba is said to feel that his talents are not appreciated by Arteta, who has been unconvinced that the 20-year-old is ready for senior football.
It is also claimed that he remains unhappy that Arsenal prevented him from playing in the 2020 French Cup final to avoid paying Saint-Etienne an additional fee of £2.25m.
With Saliba still unhappy with how Arteta has treated him, it is likely that Arsenal will now have to consider cutting their losses.
But Marseille do not have an option to buy in their loan deal and with another two years remaining on his contract, the Gunners are not under pressure to sell.
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It is reported that no decision has been made by Arsenal on Saliba’s future, though they are closely monitoring his progress in the south of France.
The continuing rift between Arteta and Saliba, as well as the signing of White, does though increase the chances that Saliba could be heading out of the exit door next summer.
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