William Saliba had a very prominent season with Marseille and there is a massive chance that he could look to head back to France next season.
Mikel Arteta has assured him of his future at Arsenal and has refused to send him out on loan but midfielder Matteo Guendouzi has claimed that he is confident William Saliba is coming back to France.
He said, as per 90Min: “William [Saliba] now has Marseille in his heart. I’m sure that he’ll come back to Marseille next season. I’m going to keep pushing so that he stays with us.”
Guendouzi was also on loan at Marseille and he is going to secure a permanent move this summer but this statement of his is surely not going down too well with the Arsenal fans. However, the harsh reality is that Saliba is still not sure if he fits into Mikel Arteta’s future plans or not.
Is William Saliba going to push his way back to Marseille?
Earlier in June, the defender had made it clear that he wants to play regularly: “I belong to Arsenal. I still have two years left on my contract. I will be back with Arsenal.
“I have played zero matches for them and I still want to show them who I really am and have the chance to play for these fans and this great club.
“But it doesn’t just depend on me. In any case, leaving [without playing for Arsenal] would be a shame.”
At Marseille, he featured in 52 games across all competitions but he is yet to play even a single competitive match for the Gunners since joining in 2019 and we have serious doubts if he will be able to break the duopoly of Ben White and Gabriel.
Gabriel and Ben White have formed a great partnership in central defender and we don’t think Mikel Arteta will risk breaking this pair up.
He is likely to use William Saliba in the Europa League and the cup ties.
While Europa League is not bad at all but at Marseille, he will have the chance to play in the Champions League next season so the preference is very obvious.
The pre-season friendlies will be a big hint as to what the future holds for Saliba because if he cannot get a run-in during the summer then the 21-year-old is sure to push for a return to Marseille, loan or otherwise.
