Arsenal signed defender William Saliba from St Etienne before the start of the season but the youngster was immediately loaned out to the French club for the entirety of the 2019-20 season.
The Gunners paid €30 million for the player last season which is a very steep price for an 18-year-old defender and according to former Gunners man Kevin Campbell, William Saliba will have to prove his worth at Arsenal next season since the North London club have been shambolic at the back this campaign.
Campbell told AFTV: “He [Arteta] already knows what he’s going to get from [Mesut] Ozil, from [Alexandre] Lacazette, from Sokratis [Papastathopoulos], from David Luiz and all the experienced guys because he’s coached against them at Man City.
“He knows what they are, he knows they’re not stupid. But what’s he going to get from these talented youngsters, do they have the right attitude for Arsenal?
“If they don’t, they’ve got to go. It’s so important he gets ruthless with everyone, because we could be waiting on a [Ainsley] Maitland-Niles to cross that gap and it never happens.
“You’ll always feel a bit sorry, say he never got the chance, but it’s nonsense now, it’s his fourth manager and the jury’s still out so something’s got to give.
“He knows what he’s going to get from the [Shkodran] Mustafis of this world. He’s got to recruit new. Saliba’s coming in, fantastic, we want Saliba in there.
“We want someone horrible at the back, probably another centre-half in there. Rob Holding, we’ve not heard about him, he’s another one that will be tested.
“Arteta has come from a place at City where you know what you’re going to get, these guys are trusted, they’ve got that consistency to perform.
“We had it, but we haven’t got it anymore, and it’s going to have to be a ruthless streak, that’s why I say rip it up and start again.
“Arteta, for me, is going to start doing that now because he hasn’t got time to be messing about.”
Too much pressure on William Saliba?
The Gunners have been really poor this season at the back and this has made life even more difficult for William Saliba.
As soon as the youngster arrives in England, he will be expected to churn out top draw performances for the first-team which will be really difficult for a defender who is just arriving in England.
Saliba will surely start his career in London under tremendous pressure and it will be up to Mikel Arteta to handle the youngster with care or else he could very well turn out to be another false investment for the Gunners.
