Highly rated defender William Saliba has revealed that he was not given enough time at Arsenal to prove himself, claiming he was hanjded “two-and-a-half” non-competitive matches to cement his place at the Emirates.
The 19-year-old joined Arsenal during the summer of 2020 from French side Saint-Etienne in a deal reported to be around £27m.
However, Saliba managed just two games in the football league trophy for Arsenal’s U23s before being sent on loan to Ligue 1 club Nice in January.
The France international beyond doubts, has been stellar for Nice; winning the club’s player of the month for January. And at this point, the player has questioned Mikel’s Arteta’s decision for having to judge him with fewer games.
🦅 @credit_agri_PCA Aiglon of the Month for January
🥇 William Saliba
🥈 Flavius Daniliuc
🥉 @benitezwalterok #OGCNice #Saliba ➡️https://t.co/iU1DecGwpp pic.twitter.com/BexHYetQH5— OGC Nice 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@ogcnice_eng) February 6, 2021
“He (Arteta) judged me on two-and-a-half matches,” Saliba told RMC Sport. “I would have liked for him to play me more. But he told me I wasn’t ready. I was waiting for him to give me a chance, but football is like that. I am happy now. I want to play for Nice.”
Arteta told reporters when sanctioning a move for Saliba in early January: “He will come back for pre-season and he will be with us, and hopefully he will come back after playing a number of games and [with] his performances raised and his development progressing in the right way. That is why we made that decision.
“I know that sometimes it is difficult to explain or understand after the money the club spent bringing him in, sending him on loan, but a lot of things have happened to him, he is a long-term player for us and we need to protect him as well.
“Giving him three or four games is not enough for him, he needs much more than that but what has happened over the past 18 months, he has gone through some personal problems as well that we have to try to help him with, and stay as close as possible to him, and now he needs to play, play and play and enjoy his profession as well.”
