William Saliba rejected Arsenal transfer request after "pushing and pushing"

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William Saliba has admitted he rejected Arsenal's request that he join a club in England – saying he instead "pushed and pushed" to join Marseille.

Saliba was officially unveiled by the Ligue 1 club this week as he prepares to spend a third spell on loan in his native France.

The 20-year-old is yet to make a senior appearance for the Gunners since his £27million signing two years ago, having since had temporary spells at Saint-Etienne and Nice.

Mikel Arteta had hinted that the centre-back would be part of his plans next season, but a deal was agreed with Marseille before Arsenal landed Ben White from Brighton.

And Saliba has now admitted that the Premier League club would have preferred him to earn first-team experience with an English side.

"I knew that this [Marseille] is where I was going to play this season, with a stadium on fire and supporters who expect a lot, for a 20-year-old youngster like me and that can only do me good,” he told La Provence via Sport Witness .

“It was I who chose Marseille. Arsenal preferred that I go to England but I knew that here it was the right choice. I pushed and pushed for that."

Saliba joined the Gunners from Saint-Etienne under Unai Emery's watch in the summer of 2019, before returning to the French club on loan for the following campaign.

There were hopes that he would be a part of Arsenal’s squad a year later, but injuries and the curtailment of the Ligue 1 campaign due to the pandemic meant Arteta felt he hadn’t played enough first-team football.

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The Gunners boss left Saliba out of his Premier League squad at the start of last term, limiting his appearances to the under-23s.

In January he was allowed to head back out on loan to Nice, where he impressed in the final months of the season.

He will now compete for a place in Marseille's defence as Jorge Sampaoli’s side look to challenge Lille and Paris Saint-Germain for the Ligue 1 title.

And the French club's sporting director Pablo Longoria believes Saliba can become one of Europe's top centre-backs.

"William has extraordinary potential in Europe, he has all the abilities of a modern player,” Longaria said.

“With the experience he has, he has everything to succeed at a high level. He is one of the players who were our first choices.”

It is understood that Arsenal did not include any option for Saliba’s move to become permanent next summer, with Arteta still describing him as a “long-term player”.

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• Ligue 1
• Premier League
• Unai Emery
• Arsenal FC
• Mikel Arteta
• Marseille FC

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