Seven games in the space of a month appear to have done William Saliba’s confidence a world of good.
Playing regular football for new club Nice, he’s earned praise for his performances in the heart of the defence and seems far more content with life after a stressful seven months at Arsenal.
If he keeps things up, he’ll be well-placed to challenge for a first team spot at the Emirates next season. That’s if he doesn’t burn all his bridges with Mikel Arteta beforehand.
A third interview with the French media in as many weeks raises a few eyebrows, especially given the barbed nature of some of his comments.
“It is clear that so much has changed in the last year,” the 19-year-old told RMC’s ‘Top of the Foot’ programme.
“When I saw that the coach changed a lot changed for me too. In this year there has been a lot of change. He [Arteta] judged me on two-and-a-half matches. 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. When I initially came to Arsenal the league looked very good so I showed up to training and wanted to train on my own to show the coach I was ready.
“I am happy now, I want to play for Nice. The idea when you’re part of a team is a better feeling for me.”
While Saliba carries the sympathies of the majority of Gunners fans who recognise he was treated carelessly by the club, he’d probably do well to keep his head down and focus on playing rather than talking.
As things stand it feels like he’s driving a wedge between himself and the club/coach and that’s not going to stand him in good stead if he wants a shot at the Emirates.
Hopefully, this is just youthful naivety rather than a strategic move but we’ll see how things play out in the coming weeks and months.
That video…. what in the actual fuck.
Can’t wait for the internet to do its thing and faceswap Arteta wanking it to Willian.
Don’t give anyone any ideas!!!!!
Even better Wenger and Ozil!
What video?
You don’t want to know mate. You seriously do not want to know.
It’s a fucking disgrace. The sooner the club get rid of that kid, the better. End of story.
For my understanding, someone else was doing a really disgusting thing and he should have left immediately but did not. Shouldn’t have to end his career at Arsenal but it tells he was in the swamp before.
Am I the only one who doesn’t really care what he does in his spare time? Clearly you’re not the first one down to the pride march with a rainbow flag, but give it a rest.
Does this have anything to do with the club? I care what he does on the pitch, and gay or straight, his personal life is his own matter.
Triggering. Unconscious bias. Toxic masculinity. Micro aggressions. All these things that are terrible but we can’t actually see.
Guy jerks himself off while minors are in the same room.
“This is fine.”
I don’t think that’s the point being made. No-one in their right mind sees that video and says “this is fine”
But it was from before he was an Arsenal player & made a mistake.
The idea that Saliba is now a “fucking disgrace” and we have to get rid of him over this is farcical.
If anything it’s time to support him because I can’t imagine he’s having a great day…
I’m not throwing Saliba under the bus at all. Maybe he’s videoing it to say “what the fuck is this?”
I’m just responding to people who imply there’s nothing abnormal about this.
If this happened in prison I’d be disgusted
Well said, J4H.
Back in the day, Arsenal would have booted this kid out of the club into orbit.
Now? Who knows? Will we see modern players taking the knee and bashing one out before the ref starts the game? If so, who are we narrow minded old farts from yesteryear to judge? Moral fibre is so 20th century.
I’d be interested to see if was so normalised and condoned if it were John Terry for example… I bet then the press and people on this site would rip him a new one for all manner of indecent offences.
It’s one thing a fully grown adult doing that infront of minors. It’s another when it’s a teammate of the same age. I’m not here to defend him, but in the grand scheme of things it’s fairly tame. Clearly this guy was taking it too far and was too young to know better but let’s not lynch Saliba for the recording. It’s not even him involved ffs.
Would you want your 15 year old boy in there?
J4 – 15yr old boys wank. They joke it, they brag about it, they lie about it, they fantasise about it… it’s what teenagers DO. Nothing more, nothing less.
Granted, posting a video online was dumb – but that also what many 15yr old are!
Show a little grace with a young lad who possibly made a momentary error of judgement. As so many of us have… it’s called growing up, man!
Exactly.
Can you imagine the hysteria if Ozil had got up to to those sort of capers? Blogs wouldn’t have a blog left – he’d be quietly sat there in soot covered rags, surrounded by the fire damaged smoking remains of a melted studio.
Back in the day when the club captain was done for drink driving and put people’s lives at risk. Or are you going further back?
Pull your tongue out of J4H ass will you. It’s actually getting pathetic now
Nice point. Really hit home the second time you made it.
Fair enough mate, if that’s the world you want to live in, be my guest. Sorry for criticising something you clearly find such wholesome fun.
I’m sorry that you have to constantly resort to personal attacks against me as you clearly find it impossible to speak to me in an educated manner. But that’s your problem, not mine.
He’s a fucking idiot.
“Constantly resort to personal attacks against you”. Really? What, because I told your little lap dog he’s pathetic for kissing your arse at every opportunity.
The only thing I’ve ever said about you was it’s about strange why you need to constantly post under the first comment of every article, even if what you said wasn’t relevant to the comment. It’s a bit needy, don’t you think? If that one time is “constantly”, I guess I’m guilty
If I had the inclination, I could reference at least three occasions where you’ve been needlessly and personally offensive. But I’m about to go to bed.
It’s ok. We are all strange versions of ourselves online. I just hope the actual you isn’t filled with such hostility, for your sake. Life’s short. I can testify to that.
It’s such a waste to spend it angrily looking into other peoples garden when we all have our own garden to tend.
No anger here, I assure you. You have a good night sir
That Arsenal player served his punishment.
Will this Arsenal player? I hope so.
Really??! It’s not some ageing predator mate – it’s a couple of naughty teenagers doing something that happens in many a boarding school, uni, army camp, etc.
Keep some perspective… should he have post it? Absolutely not… but would that we all had that sense of judgement at 15 yrs old.
It truly is – just a wank!
He’s what, 19 years old. Did you say that when the Arsenal captain was done for drink driving?
he was 16-17? in the video..
I didn’t know that, I haven’t seen it.
Even more reason for the holier than thou to get off his back
We’ve finally found something that TB doesn’t know. 😭😭😭 Whatever shall we do?!
Oh look. No one cares.
Ok, you’ve made your point; you advocate Saliba’s behaviour. You’re the pathetic one here.
If I want to agree with what J4H says, I will. Free country free blog.
The last person I’m going to worry about is you, you boring sad little boy.
cmon you telling me youve never filmed one of your mates having a cheeky wank? take a chill pill man no big deal
Mate, this is a social media post from a supposedly professional footballer who plays for Arsenal Football Club.
He has professional responsibilities. He’s now 19, a fully grown adult and should know better.
I hope the French Football Federation throw the book at him.
No – it’s a social media post from an immature mid teen who
(a) was NOT in any way associated with AFC
(b) was just a kid, not a professional
(c) clearly knew no better, for various reasons to which none of us are privy (parental guidance, background, schooling, etc).
Which of us didn’t do anything risque, borderline illegal or just plain dumb, at that age?
Easy tiger – the kid’s just 19. It’s his manager/advisors I’d take to task… clearly the jingoistic French media have sensed click-bait and are goading him into the poor-me, Arsenal never gave me chance narrative. His ‘people’ should be handling this a whole lot better! And there’s a nugget of truth in this – as there invariably is, when stories get twisted – He wasn‘t given enough opportunity… we did royally cock up his French cup chance… and all the other admin surrounding his move. My take: he was subjected to the worst of Arsenal’s shocking player management under Fat… Read more »
Just read the later posts re ‘that video’. Have no need nor desire to watch it – but here’s a less reactionary view: So he filmed a mate spanking the monkey in an all-boys changeroom when they were both too young to know better. That goes on all the time at boarding schools (and plenty of Uni’s now – and is sold for beer money on porn sites!). Right now there are 10yr olds in Africa being forced to execute their own families, their entire villages, as child soldiers… THAT is what we should be angry about, not 2 blokes… Read more »
one of these post would have done and made your point.
We get it you and your mates wanked eachother off when you were teenagers we dont all need to know
And yet, even with the numerous posts – you, peering through your narrow bars of prejudice, missed that point completely.
Better stil (oh, sweet irony!), you’ve simply illustrated it all the clearer: I try to draw a legimate parallel between kids being forced to murder their own families, as possibly just a tad more NB than 2 schoolkids taking the piss… yet all you see is an opportunity to reinforce a pathetic homophobic stereotype.
Nobody missed your point There were no narrow bars of preduice or sweet irony. you just droned on about teenagers wanking for about 5 posts and seem to think that every teenagers life is like a scene from the film porkys.
Does that include those forced to become child-soldiers? You are so far off the mark in your comfort-zone mate… the entire point is that too many kids lives’ are NOT scenes from Porkys… but barf on about it some more, why don’t you?
EVERYONE: Do not link to that video here.
Someone done something dodgy?
There’s a few second video going around of saliba on a couch in a France U18? change room, with a naked teammate who is casually wanking right next to him while Saliba slyly records. It’s just teenage pervert stuff, but they are still underage kids, and now that you have the exact description you don’t need to watch it because I’m pretty sure it’s illegal.
Thanks for the heads up. The “ just don’t watch- u don’t want to know” comments weren’t much of a deterrent. Luckily your post was. Bullet dodged.
The fact that u have so vehemently condemned it has led many to search 4 it. Most people on the internet have surmised that the kid is gay… If so good 4 him
Don’t think AB has condemned it, just asked not to link. But agree the general reaction has been thoroughly depressing. Compared to most of what rugby teams get up to when left to their own devices pretty tame, but in that context somehow macho? I saw an MMA fighter ‘oil check’ an opponent live on BT Sport just last month! More to the point, even if he is gay, who gives a ****.
Yeah, I’ve been in a few rugby teams. This definitely never happened.
Someone did this in school once and they got sectioned. Just saying. It is weird.
No, Rugby teams are too busy drinking each others pubes and sharing condoms for anything too weird…
He’s not gay…for goodness sake and even if he was so what?
Yeah we’re gonna need to see that video 🤔😂😂
Gives “Free Willy” a whole new meaning…
Saliba a big fan of Roman Pole-outski?
An utter disgrace. Get rid of him. Now. I was supporting this lad and his grievance at a lack of match opportunities barely half an hour ago, but that video is utterly vile and has absolutely nothing to do with the way an Arsenal player should conduct himself. Edu and Arteta have treated him badly, but that does not excuse that sort of thing. I now say the club should get rid of him ASAP. I don’t care how talented the kid is, there are standards of behaviour that he has clearly breached and he deserves to go. We’ve clearly… Read more »
Eh it was 4 years ago. Was he 15 there?
and it’s not him doing it is it. Still it was immature to post it, as a 15 year old.
It’s also potentially illegal to view/distribute given the ages of the people involved.
But looks like you have seen it yourself at least once. So does that mean you could also face the law soon?
how was it leaked?! it’s clear saliba made the vid. so tbh, wanking off next to your mate in the dressing room is odd. but filming and sharing/spreading is….i don’t know, but immature is not the word im looking for.
The word you are searching for is inexcusable. As Blogs said, it’s also potentially illegal.
I am absolutely sickened by the whole thing. It has absolutely nothing to do with football and I hope the powers that be respond appropriately.
Arsenal Football Club should suspend him indefinitely.
Just want to make it absolutely clear that I did NOT view the video and merely learned of it’s content via a third party online news bulletin.
The fact it was four years ago does not excuse the player from posting it. Do Arsenal Football Club wish to associate themselves with someone who would post such material?
Shame on them if they do. It’s complete inexcusable. Get rid of him.
Why are you drawing conclusion, writing long comments on a video you didn’t see?
“that video is utterly vile and has absolutely nothing to do with the way an Arsenal player should conduct himself” from someone who didn’t see it?
Eh because they are kids, that’s why it’s so vile, he doesn’t need to watch it to know it’s wrong.
The first part of your post is what counts: they WERE kids. Kids do silly, risque, exploratory things – it’s how the test – and learn – boundaries.
To me – all that matters is what Saliba does now and next season. That is what will define him as a man and a professional athlete in the public eye.
Has he matured? We shall see – but no-one should be judging him on a bit of silliness from his mid-teens.
I mean, it’s 2021. We don’t need to have an understanding of what actually happened, to have heard from the people involved or to have even seen the video to know that Saliba is a “disgrace” and should have his career ruined.
Rumours of a clip that your heard of from are a mate are good enough.
I wish there was a permanent mute button for some posters (not you stockholmgooner)
Hear hear
Send the link please
He wasn’t even an Arsenal player when it was recorded…
No-one is coming out of this well but he’s not done anything illegal, it was before he was an Arsenal player & he was 15, a time when we’ve all made mistakes.
Chill out. Take a seat on a sofa even.
Remember TGSTEL shagging a taxi? Simpler times.
One man. One car. One night of passion.
That car had the ride of its life
Fare’s fair
badum-tish
And Boris Becker’s Broom Cupboard….
I’m guessing the club knew about it and that’s why he’s in France.
The greatest irony here will be how Arteta and Arsenal stand by Saliba and support him through this process (as scrutiny of the video and its circumstances develops) going forward, welcoming him back with a clean slate when training camp begins this summer.
Absolutely. This club used to be renowned for it’s class. Now, it’s a fucking embarrassment to the former greats.
It’s Arsenal in name only.
As the article states, my sympathy is beginning to wear thin.
Yes, you were given 2.5 matches and I guess you didn’t cut it. If Nice is your level mate, crack on.
Well Arsenal under Arteta are at a Willian level.
Go figure.
I think he’s entitled to be disgruntled. It doesn’t even look fair to me at how he was treated. It didn’t look fair with the caliber of players we had. It didn’t look fair with the competitions we were in.
Absolutely he has every right to be annoyed but it seems everyone forgets the reasons Arteta gave or conveniently try to ignore them. For a CB of his age given the limited appearances in his career up to that time in a new league, things could have gone either way. We saw what happened with Senderos who was a very promising CB only to be shattered by Drogba here and there. If I am not mistaken he even broke down in tears after that loss to liverpool in the champions league and that was the end of his journey with… Read more »
I think Sanogo could have had a better career, had he never come to Arsenal. His time at Arsenal destroyed his confidence. Toulouse was relegated and did not even offer him a contract and he was without a club trying to play in italian B league.
Seems his name and price tag prove something…which they dont.
Seems perfectly fine to me that he was at the bottom of the pecking order.
What was shit was he didnt get that loan move sorted at the start of the season. That was a missed opportunity that Arsenal can take some flack for. The rest of it? Nah.
Next interiview Saliba gives:I was judged on a two-and-a-half-minute video.
But it’s not that simple, is it. We paid about £27 million for him according to reports. If he wants to “crack on” there, you’d presumably sell him. That may mean Arsenal taking quite a big loss depending on the state of the market etc. (it’s not what it was when we bought him in Summer 2019). We could force him to return I guess, but would that get the best out of an already pis*ed off player? If he does return, he could just sit in the reserves or at home although nobody benefits from that and it looks… Read more »
Next to the 35m Mustafi, Saliba looks a right bargain
I’m getting pretty tired of the incessant questions from reporters, but not worried about Saliba at all tbh. He’s only answering the questions being put to him in an honest way so fair do’s.
He’s playing football now, so good for him and I don’t see any reason why he should hold a long-standing grudge over the last few months. Pretty confident Arteta will manage him well going forward.
This is a real test of his character now and if he comes through it well then I’m sure he will become a great player for us.
i agree with goonerrific. yes he’s entitled to be disgruntled, but why go on publicly time and time again? the ligue 1 isn’t the premier league and saliba’s apparently been very good at st. etienne before, as has pepe been for lille. that said, i really don’t get why arteta didn’t try him. he was reluctant to play saka and esr as much as he does now, too, so he well might have been wrong about saliba, too. all the time (before he went to nice) i thought it was saliba’s personal troubles that stop arteta from playing him, turned… Read more »
Agreed Vie. Worrying that Mikel also was ready to let Holding go out on loan..and what? Rely on David Luiz and Mustafi?! I have still have faith in Mikel, but to quote le grove, that’s a sign of bad taste in players. Having said that Gabriel, Partey and Aouar suggests he does have some eye for talent. Odegaard too maybe.
Would not be surprised if he is sold. Chambers will be kept. Not necessarily about the quality of the players, but Chambers is English, and with the post-Brexit rules, it would make sense for Arsenal to capitalise on the Hale End Academy as a monetising asset. Get young English players from the lower leagues -> get them up to Premier League levels -> if player is okay, sell to Championship promotion hopefuls or lower half teams, else sell to teams in Europe. If really good, keep. The way we have got in younger foreign players like Omar Rekik, Nikolaj Moller,… Read more »
Until Rekik, Moller and others aren’t played and leave, like Balogun, while we play Luiz and Willian at every opportunity. I’m really fed up with Arteta, he’s a huge disappointment, very good at talking the talk (how Martinelli is so good) but doesn’t walk the walk, Gabi rots on the bench while we get to watch Willian losing the ball again.
Most people share your frustrations regarding the good players being benched and Willian having a contract at Arsenal at all. There needs to be a call at season’s end on that one.
I like your name.
Nothing I’ve seen this season suggests we’re any better than Nice. Fans need to lower expectations. We’ve no given right to win or challenge for trophies. We are a mid table team with mostly average players, who would struggle to play in the championship week in week out, on champions league winner wages.
As Mr. Miyagi says, “The are no bad students, only bad teachers.” Guendo and Saliba are generational talents but in the end they’re young kids. Arteta/Edu have severely mismanaged them. No excuses.
Not sure you can lump Guendozi in with Saliba there. He has previous for attitude problems and I’m not convinced he’s that special
Also, unlike Saliba he cannot be complaining about lack of opportunities.
He started tons of games under Emery in his first season in the PL at 19/20 years old. Mkhitaryan and Özil called him the best young player they’ve played with. Maupay is a cunt that even Brighton don’t like. How about we support our young players for once instead of piling on? Endless patience for Xhaka but Guendo gets the exile?
Maybe Guendouzi should have made his feelings known with reducers on Maupay during the match rather than wait behind the bike sheds for him post-match.
The guy busted his ass that game, came on late and tried to rescue it. Maupay did Leno dirty and Guendo was the only one who stood up for him. He crossed a line, no doubt. But at his age/maturity, one can have a bit of understanding. I’m sure you lot were all zen masters at 20 years old….
Yes, but that’s not why Guendouzi was excluded from the squad. If you read back, Arteta is barely critical of Guendouzi at all for that.
You probs have better info than me blogs, but all I’ve seen referenced are ill-defined “attitude problems.” If you google “Guendouzi + Arteta” they all reference the Brighton game…
@goonerd – I think it was the catalyst for something, but it wasn’t that incident itself which saw him excluded.
Fair enough. It’s certain by this point he’s stubborn and has an attitude. Shame though because he’s young and talented – and an asset of the club. Arteta should have have it in his locker to manage that asset well and preserve/maximize its value.
One of the reasons Wenger succeeded with the young ones was because he had no ego and didn’t feel threatened. Arteta seems to have ego (and perhaps hubris) in abundance. I don’t see the need to otherwise make examples of younger players while having endless patience for his favorites.
How did Arteta not manage the Guendouzi situation well? He’s on loan for the season. We haven’t sold him. Same goes for Saliba. In one case, it is “go and cool off”; in the other, it is “go and get more experience.” If those two don’t recognize the opportunity they have to play for Arsenal, and would rather take this opportunity to wiggle their way out to somewhere else, well so be it — do we really want to be a team made up of players that don’t want to be here, that can’t accept the structure and expectations in… Read more »
I always put it bluntly and get downvoted but people end up repeating same things. Arteta needed to free space for a new midfielder plus get another team pay one of our players.
Was it a catalyst…FOR CHANGE?
It was the petulance after the fact. Geundouzi stood his ground like a stubborn git and did not apologize to Arteta. It was a blatant challenge of authority, and Arteta, a new and relatively young manager, was still trying to stamp his authority. A challenge by one of the old guard like Ozil or Luiz would be one thing, but by a 20 yr old Geundouzi? I think he got made an example of – which in its way isn’t the best management.
Even if he is shit/a spoiled brat, the best way is to keep everything normal to keep hoa value. Now everyone knows that Arteta hates Guendouzi, who has 1 ear left in his contract, how much money do u think we are gonna get for him?
I am tired of people talking like accountants. In Wenger’s time there was just the ‘he doesn’t do defence/video’ gripe, now everyone has a million sticks to beat the manager with. When we didn’t have money it was that we don’t spend. Now, when we spend it’s why we wasting money. Arteta is not managing your daddy’s shop. Stop it. Focus on the play not the tabloid shit.
I’m tired of people putting Arteta on a pedestal. Willian at 32 on a three-year deal is criminal mismanagement. Saliba for €30m and playing U23s is criminal. I don’t see any cheap shots here. Nobody is writing #ArtetaOut. If you don’t agree on the merits, fine. But your fake outrage is a poor fig leaf for Arteta, about as effective as Saliba’s for his mate.
He’s our manager — why wouldn’t we want to raise him up, rather than tear him down?
Lol. Y’all are a dramatic bunch. Nobody’s tearing him down. Just don’t reflexively defend his every move. I want Arteta to succeed as much as the next guy.
But read the article: it is BANANAS that he + Edu extended David Luiz’ contract instead of giving this kid a chance. It’s inexplicable that he continues to play Willian.
I’m simply advocating an objective assessment of Arteta’s decision-making and the consequences for results and the squad.
Calling those decisions “criminal” is hardly providing an objective assessment. Why not try understanding the decisions as based on knowledge of the players and the squad that we simply do not have watching the TV and surfing the media waves, and that they are coming during a period of considerable upheaval at the club? Not sure Saliba would have been the right character to help lead us through the awful period we experienced this season; it frustrates us, and the player, but protecting him this season while we continue to transition is not poor management. Saliba can’t understand that now,… Read more »
Nobody’s tearing him down, and no one’s putting him on a pedestal either. Some people just want to give the guy some support, show me a manager that has never made a mistake in their career! He’ll be defended for things like winning the FA cup, getting the best out of Saka and Smith-Rowe, bringing in Partey, developing Holding into a decent defender (see that skill against Villa?!) Etc. But I won’t defend him for Willian, that is some surreal shit right there. And Auba’s decline, not sure if that’s down to Arteta but let’s say it is for the… Read more »
Not a million sticks, just a few, namely:
+ The obvious favoritism shown to certain players (probably dont need to say who right?)
+ The treatment of certain players who, if not used, can still bring money for reinvestment
+ The seeming stubbornness and slow ability to learn from mistakes
+ The inflexibility in using the squad (Arteta seems to be unable to improvise solutions to improve his imperfect players – read the Athletic recent article about Arsenal strikers)
Top post. Well said.
I think its fair to say that Saliba’s management has been absolutely horrendous and his gripes with our club and Areta are very well deserved. They other sticks are more of the “Ok, but..” sort. Favoritism to Willian? Ok, but you get a player who was one of Chelsea’s best players last season, and who is probably showing more in training than the dogshit we have to watch on tv. He is not a starter in the PL anymore so that’s something isnt it? Stubbornness and Inflexibility? Ok but it’s also Arteta’s most Wengerian quality, because its coupled with clarity… Read more »
‘Generational talents’? FFS.
+1
Guendouzi is hardly interesting to watch, much less an elite young talent.
Bruh…
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/erst-21-und-doch-schon-so-wichtig-fuer-hertha-bsc-matteo-guendouzi-ist-herthas-anfuehrer/26713992.html
Let me translate that for you: “Guendouzi is only 21 but so important for Hertha: Matteo Guendouzi is Hertha’s leader”
33 appearances in the PL under Emery in 2019/2020 (FYI there are 38 games in a PL season), keeping €30m Lucas Torreira on the bench
🤫
Hertha, the team which ahs lost 6 out of the last 8 matches (1 drawn). Great leadership.
And we’re sitting eleventh in the league… What’s that you were saying about leadership?
Guendouzi! Lol…second rate reserve team level faker with a bad attitude. Glad he’s able to establish himself in the mighty Hertha midfield. Lol. Look forward to selling the useless cnt.
lol u mad bro?
Guendouzi = 0 goals and 1 assist in the EPL for all that huffing and puffing. He is not an elite talent and I expect Arteta thought he could do better with less attitude elsewhere.
His 1 assist did come on a NLD if memory serves me right.
Generational talents? Steady on. Bit early for that,no?
Play Well, come back and become a legend!
Arteta will have to own his mistake, but he should focus on football from now on and keep his head down.
if arteta finishes in the bottom half , i hope hes sacked– a novice of a manager at a giant of a club—
unless we are happy with mid table mediocracy
get a proper coach in eg allegri– a league winner not just a cup specialist–
we play piss poor football most of the time at the moment and get turned over by most teams
The reality is if they stood by Arteta during a run that would have seen any coach at a top club anywhere else in the world be sacked, he’s here to stay. Seems pretty clear the club has decided Arteta has potential and similar to how a young player costs points, we’re willing to live with a pretty poor season as he learns. The team is playing better than it was and hopefully we can sneak into the CL via the Europa League. He and Edu should still take some heat for putting so many resources into older players- i.e.… Read more »
Kid needs to have a better counsel around him. If the news of him losing people close to him is indeed true, the club could have done a bit more. But at the end of the day he comes out as a player who is very much confident of his abilities and somewhat on lines of Ibra letting his head talk than having a better understanding of things around him. Also french media would love to prove he is right and how Arsenal are allowing Nice and him to do so many interviews, this has been a trend since his… Read more »
Pure speculation but it does make you wonder if he’s done something or said something to upset MA.
It just feels possible given Saliba’s less than diplomatic interviews and the boss’s intolerance of ‘attitude’.
Either way this guy is being well paid by us and should show some professional deference to the club’s decisions.
Saliba doesn’t live in China/Myanmar/Russia. He is entitled to speak his mind. Arteta can handle criticism – he’s a grown man.
Publicly slagging off your boss doesn’t tend to go down well here either
He’s not “slagging off his boss.” If he wanted to, he could start talking about how poor the team was playing before Christmas and that how Willian has been given game after game after game when he was only given two. He could call out Arteta’s claim that he didn’t register Saliba “to protect the player.” He hasn’t done any of that. He’s said that he felt “his boss” should have given hime more than two and a half games to prove himself, which is fair, and true. It only feels like “slagging his boss,” because in this instance, his… Read more »
I don’t disagree that the way it has been handled seems poor but repeatedly talking to the press about it saying this kind of stuff doesn’t seem very smart
No one saying he shouldn’t have opinions. Just not talk to the press about them when they potentially damage his club’s reputation.
I think he might have showed up pissed off about missing the French cup final, I would have been as well. It was petty of Arsenal.
We shouldn’t have had to pay them a bonus for allowing him the privilege of playing – especially when coming off an injury. It seems pretty clear they wanted the extra money – not William playing in the cup final.
That was (speculative) view I had as well.
Saliba was playing very well in the French league (and playing well again now).
We had financially invested heavily in him.
While he had big personal tragedy, seemed to me not playing football was making it worse than the protection that Arteta was claiming.
Why would he want to come back? He’s been mismanaged from start to finish and the only way the club is going to let him go is if the relationship is totally broken. He’s probably taking tips from Guendouzi to make sure that’s the case and he can leave. The club and manager are laughing stocks over what is happening with Saliba, Balogun is another one. Yet we will carry on playing fucking Luiz and Willian where Saliba and Nelson should be given their chance.
His media stories will be one SPICY BOI for the rest of the loan.
Saliba on his way to ending his Arsenal career even before it begins. What a shame
Who cares. Get rid.
I don’t think this is anything to get too worried about. It’s not like he has directly criticised Arteta, he’s just upset he didn’t get more time to prove himself, which is understandable.
He’s on a long contract and Nice wouldn’t be able to afford his transfer fee, so he’ll come back to us at the end of the season (assuming Arteta wants him).
This will all be forgotten if he integrates into the first team next season, and does well.
May I suggest you Google the player’s name – and check out the latest news…..
Are you referring to the leaked dressing room video? Weird and unfortunate, but nothing to do with whether he stays at Arsenal.
He behaved inappropriately. He posted a video of himself and a team mate having a jostle whilst they were both still minors. That’s both illegal and damaging to the club’s reputation. It’s got everything to do with whether or not he stays at Arsenal. His contract should be terminated for bringing the club and the game into disrepute. Well, back in the day, that’s what would have happened. Now, this club is run so pathetically that if Arteta welcomed him back tomorrow and gave him the captaincy and started bleating what a great role model he is for the club,… Read more »
I hadn’t heard when I commented before that they may be underage in the video, which obviously makes it much much worse for whoever is posting and viewing it.
I still don’t think it affects whether we keep Saliba. It was wrong to take the video and (presumably) share it with the dressing room, but he’s not the one who put it on the internet. And if Saliba was a kid when he filmed the video, it makes it more understandable that he would make a wrong decision.
You mean the dredged up click-bait vid from 4 years ago? That ‘latest’ news?
He posted it on Snapchat a few days ago. As a 19 year old Arsenal player.
Hello? Anyone at home….? Duh…….🤪
In that case, he should be taken to task – but what I read suggested that it was NOT him who had posted it?
Arteta didn’t include him in the registered squad but did include Mustafi. Mustafi, the horror show guy in the last year of his contract is ahead of Saliba, a 30m young guy who was touted as the future of our defense. Mustafi left for free in January while playing a few games. Saliba has 0 minutes for Arsenal. He is now player of the month for Nice, which doesn’t make him world class but I think it’s enough to think he could have played those Mustafi minutes at least. Dire management. I feel for Saliba, he wasn’t helped at all… Read more »
Apart for last paragraph I agree with you. I’m not in the Artets out brigade. But a lot of his choices about players selection and his comments about the reasons for them have been debatable. Saliba has been left in the ditch and is trying to protect himself. He should have been tried in the uefa league and could have done a better job than mustafi
The reaction of fans to his “attitude” is a bit much. He is being interviewed and is honestly responding. Arteta judged him far to quickly and made it about “protecting him”. No one was pleading he play every game, but it is abundantly clear he got fucked around. Should he be saying, “oh well it was a really great experience, and I loved my time there and I can’t wait to get out of Nice and back to Arsenal and prove myself” just to keep fans and coaches happy? I appreciated his honesty and actually giving forthright interviews. Puts a… Read more »
A level-headed approach would be not to do the interview…..
A level-headed approach would be to let the guy vent a bit and not take everything personally.
Well said Sachin, just like your name-sake you’re a great man.
Venting sometimes can turn into winding himself up.
It is always better to think twice before talking.
Who’s to say he didn’t? And yet, decided he had every right to comment honestly on what has been an unmitigated cock-up by the club that signed him.
Another Arteta cock up.
If he wasn’t so fucking obsessed with playing Willian, he might just notice that he has a squad to manage. Two and a half games. Fucking pathetic.
Your William obsession is beginning to rival your ozil obsession
That’s the most ridiculous comment I’ve read today.
Hmm…this is starting to feel like a young guy who just doesn’t want to be here and I suspect the reasons might be more layered than just the treatment by the club he complains about. Makes me think he’s either trying to force a move, or he’s a bit of a hothead; either way there could be trouble ahead.
You blamed it on the player being naive and not the club being corrupted? Really??
Mr.Blog is in Love with Arteta and thats the reason he doesn’t like Willian too as he has become a love for Arteta. Blogs never puts the blame on Arteta but everyone else.
Please have a read: https://arseblog.com/2021/02/aston-villa-1-0-arsenal-more-midlands-mid-table-misery/
I would expect a blog or putting out something in the line of… ‘ Arteta’s job should be questioned ‘ in our next 5 games ( Leeds, Benfica, Man City, Benfica , Leicester ) if we get bad results in these next 5 fixtures, he should be Out , right ?
Start your own blog, and you can write whatever you want.
Dont worry blog, you could defend Arteta as much as you like, making a blog about VAR & Referees & So on to defend him… True Arsenal Fans will look at this season as a failure, incompetent manager coaching our team & he will be FIRED very very soon…
If you also need any tips defending Arteta, go and start writing about KSE & board not funding for Arteta 😉
At last, someone uncovers the fact I’m not a true Arsenal fan … like you, Mr T.
It’s a real weight off my mind.
Never said you wasnt 😉 Just feel like you are very Bias towards Arteta..
All the so called dead wood players are out of the club… 2 games 2 losses…
#Artetaout
You had it right the first time pal.. it’s Mr Blog to you
Boot licker
Do you and Trump share the same crystal ball? You might have the info he needs on all those ‘stolen’ votes…
How often do you regret posting in your own comments section? Tough crowd…
😉
Go Blogs!!
Well said Jojo… it also seems that Arteta has the full backing by Arseblog too… The position we are in the league, knocked out of FA Cup, lets see UEFA Cup… but even if that goes tits up Arseblog will find a way to defend Arteta
mate if you don’t like what he writes then you literally do not have to read it
you can literally choose any other website that has been created ever
True… but if you create Arseblog ( Arsenal news ) you expect the admin to be neutral into all matters relating to Arsenal FC… Which I feel on occasions he is not, therefore I felt the need to comment as a Arsenal fan, However if it was Artetablog than you are 100% right.
I would not expect any blogger to remain neutral on all aspects of what they are blogging about. I would however expect them to have an opinion. That’s certainly a main reason that I read this blog; I already know my opinion and want to read someone else’s. What benefit would any of us derive from a blog that is neutral on everything? What’s the point of that?
Why would someone’s blog be neutral?!! Haha, jeez, in the same way, why would I expect your comments to be neutral?
In case you need some clarity, it’s subjective.
You two could call it Jojo’s T-time… just a thought.
Corrupted? Like, taking bribes?
Assuming he doesn’t want to come back and play for Arsenal, how much could we recoup for him? He’s still a young exciting talent, but if we sell I reckon only French clubs are coming in for him, and they’re not paying £30m…
Forget French clubs.. No one is going to pay premium for a wantaway player. Pretty easy to get hardballed into selling in these situations.
If we want to make ammends, we take our blame in the situation and then when he returns PLAY HIM!!! He deserves a chance, in fact he deserves much more than one chance. Putting Mustafi and an injured Mari ahead of him is just plain embarrassing. It seems so much like another example of Mikel trying to show who’s in charge. The problem with all that macho stance is that his treatment of Willian (going AWOL), Xhaka (fake tough guy), and Luiz (being David Luiz) compared to Douzi and Saliba is plain embarrassing. Senior players getting away with things and… Read more »
And Cedric pass which costs us against Villa,
I guess MA saw Saliba and Guendouzi as emerys players
At this point I hope Arteta get sacked before we have to sell Guendouzi and Salina and Balogun
We won’t be selling Balogun as he and his agent refuse to sign a contract. Can’t do much with that.
It can hardly be a surprise, can it? He clearly thinks that he has been treated badly by the club (and so do I, but it’s what he thinks that matters) and I suspect he’ll be pushing hard for a permanent move away asap. That will put us in a dilemma because after interminable “problems” with one other high profile player who has now left – we all know who that was – do we really want another one coming along so soon? I doubt it. How this mess will be resolved is yet to be seen but the club… Read more »
We are a wantaway club because we are mid table and gradually going down, we don’t have the same pulling power of other regular top 4, we are now struggling to reach top six, a young prospect would rather go to Everton, Leicester or Villa , than hang with us. We are getting lumbered with Reals, Chelsea and other clubs rejects and paying a lot of money for them
Arteta/the Club fucked him over. He has a right to express himself and Arteta/Edu need to (publicly) apologize to Saliba and start from scratch.
However, whining about it is not going to do him any favours. Arteta has clear favourites (for example when Nelson misplaces one pass he’s immediately dropped from the squad while Willian can do no wrong) and while I like how he has made us defensively sounder he needs to put more faith in Hale End.
It seems like the damage that Arteta has caused to the player-coach relationship is irreversible. Looks like Willo doesnt fancy playing for Arteta and I wont blame him.
How about our novice coach shows a little humility for once and admitted he has fucked up, just like his handling with Willian?
Don’t you have school today bro? It’s Edus mistake of screwing up the first loan not Artetas for not wanting to play him.
Jeez you two get a room.
Not sure why people are down-voting this. It was Edu’s job as Technical Director to make sure the paperwork etc for his loan to Saint-Etienne went through, and he didn’t.
It’s a separate issue from Arteta deeming him not ready, but we wouldn’t having the constant discussions about Saliba if we’d sorted out his loan.
Edu has a part to blame but it is Arteta who deemed Saliba not good enough for a place in the squad while registering Runarsson, Mustafi etc. Plus if it was Edu fault then why Saliba keeps hinting at Arteta.
And we are not talking about a random kid. Saliba has been a consistent performer for Etienne for several years.
In all likeliness, another 30m asset rot away thanks to Arteta, who probably thinks he is still at City (yes, Pep can bin whoever he dislikes, they have unlimited resources)
According to Saliba, the manager told him pretty much straight away – which is one of the main points of contention for the player – that he wasn’t ready for the first team.
Yes, the club messed up. But his agent had weeks to then make sure his client secured a loan move.
Why is the fault for this then all being put at Arteta’s feet? Seems like he’s the one who should be shouldering the least amount of blame, to me.
I think you may have totally missed Saliba’s point. Perhaps 2.5 games is not enough to judge a player “ready” or not. Especially when he is still giving games to Willian and others to prove they are “ready” when it’s clear the only thing Willian is ready for is retirement.
I understand it’s Saliba’s main point of contention – I referenced it in my comment. Whether Arteta was right about that decision is another point entirely. My point is, once he had come to that conclusion, there was still plenty of time for Saliba’s agent to ensure his client was found a suitable loan club. Really don’t see why Arteta is taking so much flak for Saliba not going out on loan, when Edu and the agent are rarely, if ever, mentioned. Had the manager dithered and left it to the last minute, it would be on him. But he… Read more »
Several years? He barely played a season and a half, with some significant injury breaks. He’s also just 19 and there are very few 19 year old centre-halves playing regularly in the Premier League.
I want him to succeed, but let’s look at his situation objectively and with some common sense.
Arsenal handled his loan badly. Saliba’s talking isn’t doing him any favours.
We still spent £28m on a teenager, and for everyone’s sake we have to find a way to make it work.
He made around 40 appearances for St Etienne and Nice since 2018. Meanwhile Saka has around 46 appearances. And he was so important that Etienne requests him for a final against PSG.
Surely he was so bad that he cant play a few games in the Europa League?
Nobody says he should be playing regularly, but it’s reasonable to have some doubt about Arteta’s assessment, especially given his recent performances in France.
Anyway let’s wait and see what happens next season. That is if Arteta still has his job.
I disagree here. Blogs, you specifically were talking about players giving forthright interviews a few weeks back and crediting them for doing it (James Maddison I think) and Hector. And here is Saliba, just telling it how it was for him. He spent 6 months in the dog house for no apparent reason. Sure Edu fucked up his loan, but a legitimate question remains, why were we loaning him when he could play in Europa (and coulda played league cup too). Why was Arteta so quick to judge him (and yet so slow to judge poorly performing elder players??). I… Read more »
Troodat!
Arsenal handled purchase and loan back badly to start with. Then we handled the french cup extension deal worst. Then we fucked up the paperwork.
They’re both to blame for the way Arsenal handled the situation. The only thing missing with those two is a pair of bowler hats. We have our very own Laurel and Hardy.
However, Saliba’s behaviour in posting an illegal video online should be reason enough for the club to ditch him.
They probably won’t, of course which will speak volumes of how much the game -and society in general – is fucked up nowadays.
Isn’t Saliba’s agent also partially culpable for this too. I mean, isn’t taking care of their clients’ careers and wellbeing pretty much the entire point of their existence?
That’ll be the same agent who is allowing (if not actually arranging) these click-bait type media interviews… clearly not helping the lad!
Beecause some of the fans – mostly those who were deeply in love with a giant-eyed playmaker – have decided that Arteta is the devil now and everything that goes wrong is absolutely and unquestionably his and only his fault and he should be gone as soon as possible. Should bring back the angriest man on the internet. Time for him to shine again, if you ask me. Regarding Saliba, maybe the fact that he’s good friends with Guendouzi hasn’t exactly helped to relax the situation. But as I said before, Arteta will have had reasons to do what he… Read more »
We are 11th in the fucking league 11th! And we have already lost 10 games and are out of the cup Maybe that is the reason some people don’t think the sun shines out if artetas arse.
Are these the same people that said we have to make a huge clear out after Wenger and that it’s clear that this will take time and results will be difficult for a few seasons before we’re able to compete again?
And btw, we are 9 points behind a Liverpool side that dominated Europe for the last 2 seasons. It’s all about perspective.
And there’s actually a middleground between Arteta is horrible and Arteta is the saviour. Fascinating, eh?
My bad the school comment was childish if you will. 😄
To be fair, it isn’t a completely separate issue, because if Arteta had told Edu earlier, he would have had more time to file the paperwork.
What boggles my mind is that while on the one hand, Arteta apparently determined very early that Saliba was not up to the standard, on the other, it seemingly waited until the window was nearly closed to tell Edu.
The same thing seems to have happened with Ozil
I just don’t get it.
What boggles my mind is that anyone might actually think this is the way it went down!
Actually, you see, Arteta was busy gelling his hair, composing sonnets to Willian and translating passionate fan tweets into Catalan because that’s what they cynics seem to think he does all day. That’s why he could not WhatsApp with Edu a week before the transfer deadline.
Billy big bollocks
The question remains why we spent so much money on a young defender who in his second season is still deemed not good enough to play for us. Who warranted this deal?
This “he said, they did, I think” is fluff that shouldn’t distract us from asking the above.
Being sensible with money ain’t something Arsenal seem capable of.
That’s right and it’s not acceptable.
Relax. He’ll come back better for it if he’s any good in the next few months. Keep that BP in check
If it happened at another club, you’d have to wonder why a Director of Football who later got fired under suspicious circumstances might have done a £28m deal for an 18 year old who had barely played 20 first team games.
Has anything about Raul surfaced since his acrimonious departure? Imagining him speeding along an seaside road in the Caribbean smoking a big cigar, listening to la bamba with a trunk of cash in the back. He leans over to tell his glamorous passenger with a throaty chuckle how he would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for that pesky lawyer.
Exactly! 28 million normally buys you a proven defender which is what we needed. Instead we get a youngster who is out on loan for the second consecutive season.
Didn’t Leicester buy a defender of similar age from St Etienne who has slotted right in? Why do they get it right while we are left holding our dicks here?
We bought Gabriel a year later for same money,
Gabriel plays and he plays well. Two seasons in and Salina isn’t playing for us at all. Gabriel is not an issue whereas the goings on surrounding Saliba are.
I’m just saying that £28 million buys you are ready made defender, we were pillocks to pay £28mil for Saliba and leave him on loan for a full season. If we need to “grow” players we have the academy!!
I agree.
Not at Arsenal mate – 35m bought us Mustafi, ffs!!!
What constitutes transfer malpractice exactly? Is it paying more than we used to for players? I would hope we pay more, being skint is what knocked us out of top four in the first place. Is it having relationships with agents? Liverpool paid agents 45 million the year they won the CL. Their transfer policy is apparently golden. If Sanllehi gets fired for [reason to be clarified by “Tim Lewis”], what price Kepa? Whose head is rolling for 25 mill on Thiago Alacantara in the last year of his contract? When goalies and centre backs cost 70 million, how much… Read more »
Exactly, internationals transfers are ripe for corruption, have been for a while and why now is the time to start scrutinising them but not years ago is beyond me. That doesn’t mean it needs to stop happening but why wasn’t this level of scrutiny shown earlier. Very few questions were asked about the integrity of signing Lucas Perez or Mustafi, both have been accepted to have been made in good faith despite paying wildly over the odds for both The truth is Arsenal’s problems are because we have imbalance squad with no top players in their prime, with Partey perhaps… Read more »
Well put.
Leicester paid 36 million for his defensive partner Fofana, also a teenager. The difference is that he’s been sensibly managed.
Only hope is that Arteta learns, which… if Solskjaer can manage a team to second in the league and Zidane can win three CLs, anything is possible. Technically speaking.
We invest €30million in an 18yr old centre half So we don’t have to invest £60million on a 23yr old centre half We didn’t buy the finished article St Ettiene needed the cash, and we gambled that his value would increase, and not decrease. Injuries, our bureaucratic incompetence, and indecision, has hampered his development, but if he plays well and develops, there’s still plenty of time to see a return on the investment You don’t always get an instant return, investments mature at different rates He’s 19, not 27, there’s still plenty of time for us to see a return… Read more »
Exactly, top class ready made centre half’s cost £80m now, £27m gets either potential or not good enough
If we spend 28 million on a defender I expect him to play, not be sent out on loan two seasons in a row.
Why? We spent £35m on a defender 4 years ago and only just released him on a free, 6 months before his contract ran out.
Saliba is the Pepe of central defenders, potential and a work in progress. Both cost a third of the bench mark for their respective positions.
Except for a short honeymoon period that defender ran the gauntlet for the duration of his time here. It’s precisely because of duds like him we don’t want to see more money being wasted. Something about this Saliba deal is not right.
I totally agree with you but the problem is we’ve had a identity crisis for several years now.
I order to be successful at the top end of the table you need to have a critical mass of quality players in the prime years of their career, we haven’t had that for years.
I order to break that cycle we need to stop buying potential and start buying top quality otherwise we’ll forever be a work in process.
A player on loan for a second consecutive season doesn’t sound like top quality to me. It sounds like another one of Don Raul’s backhanders and it’s fair enough he was sacked for it. If Edu had a hand in it too, which I suspect he did, he should also be sacked. And if Saliba turns out to be a below average defender whose agent fleeced us for twice his actual value, then what? Loan him out until he goes on a free? Cancel his contract? Sell him for next to nothing? We’ve done this with a whole host of… Read more »
Odegaard. Ceballos. Morata. Plenty of people go on loans for more than season. Doesn’t mean they are incompetent or the loaning club is run by fools. Raul may have been too shady, but don’t write off Saliba (or Pepe) just yet.
A 19 year old on loan sounds like potential to me and there are mitigating circumstances as to why is he out on loan other than just his age. 1, we had a major surplus in his position and 2, our current team aren’t good enough to help bring along yet another youngster as we might want. I’ll repeat myself, if you want ready made top class that cost £80m+ otherwise the chances are you’re getting varying stages of not good enough. Again, i think we agree but are coming from different angles, Arsenal have to decide what kind of… Read more »
Pepe cost 72 million. So I hardly think he cost a 3rd of the benchmark for a wide forward.
Neymar Jr, £200m is the bench mark for a wide forward
we’ve been sold quite a few “lemons” recently and have not been able to shift any.
had a sanchez firing on all cylinders and swapped him for Miki and let miki go for free, what the fuck, we are oozing money without purpose.
That Sanchez is where now exactly?? What is the point? Miki didn’t work out – tough titties. We have other players in his stead now. Even top performing players can be replaced. We once let Vieira go on the back of Cesc. Your idea of sporting excellence and financial prudence is expecting too much.
Saliba is not the Pepe of defenders because Pepe is playing for us and not out on a second loan. The only thing they have in common are that they are both looking like they were overpriced. And you may recall that Don Raul was sacked over the Pepe deal.
They’re not overpriced, what we paid is about the going rate for potential. I.e. about a third of the world record for their respective positions
Potential world class*
€30million could still turn out to be a steal
MA might turn out to be a great tactician but his handling of players might be his undoing.
Attitude of these young french talents is questionable. You can feel pitty or sorry but talking to the press about it? 2,5 matches, really? Arteta saw him in trainings.
If his daily performances would match his ego, he would play like his colleague Fofana does.
Fofana was also at St Etienne and was deemed the inferior player. So why Fofana is deemed good enough to start for a genuine top 4 side like Leicester and Saliba isn’t deemed good enough for Arsenal seems like Arteta/the Club have truly fucked up beyond belief.
Whoever is responsible for this situation is yet to be revealed but something isn’t right here.
Maybe Leicester are just better than us and have a better squad of players?
Not sure if “we only want to play nice boys who never complain” is the hill this club wants to die on right now. Just behave like a big-time club and learn to manage egos for the love of silverware.
Careful they will start calling you Salty-ba.
Or not.
Because it’s a crap pun
Gee, build a bridge mate and play your footy.
The man is frustrated. He knows he is good, he goes on loan and then he gets awards almost instantly. His ego will be puffer fish level inflated right now. He’s chomping on a huge slice of “I told you so” cake. Thing is… We can all see that already, including Arteta. The most powerful thing for him to do now is not talk about us at all and just kill it out there. If anything, it’ll make the club and fans more scared wondering “does he even miss us? Does he want us anymore? What is on his mind??”.… Read more »
I think attitude/talking destroys careers but only for those who are not really that talented, and then we notice and reference them.
There are good players out there at big clubs hiding with quite bad attitude and behavior.
I remember the quiz with Lacazette and Saliba didn’t consider himself as an Arsenal player because he hadn’t played a game. It wasn’t difficult to read between the lines and you cannot blame him for feeling aggrieved at how he has been treated.
A large part of why these bit-part players (by appearances) feel they can just up and talk is that they see the poor performances by the first team, and not necessarily their own quality. That said, our defence has been fairly good, all things considered, this season. Gabriel, Holding and Cedric bungled up against Villa, but that has definitely not been par for the course. Till just before the Wolves game, we were second strongest defence in the league. Both players and fans should perhaps gain a measure of sense in these matters. Playing football professionally is a job. Even… Read more »
We handled the loan badly back in October We had plenty of time to find him a sensible move This has been blown way out of proportion though, he’s 19, maybe he just isn’t quite ready yet…. Smith-Rowe wasn’t quite ready last season, this season he’s matured after his loan Look at the progression of Saka within the last 15 months Throwing young players in before they’re ready, causes more harm than good, particularly in central areas He’s ambitious, and wants to play regular football, I like to see that in young players, he’s understandably a bit annoyed, it’s not… Read more »
Maybe , just maybe that Saliba is the straight taking type ,and commented on something that MA doesn’t like to hear. And thus he was branded NOT ready. I do think that MA is doing a good job so far, but it doesn’t mean I agreed with every of his decisions – “He needed a transition year” but Gabriel was slotted in straight away even when he doesn’t have any preseason – William is a proven premier league player, but struggled to demonstrate why we gave him a long contract at this age, while his former club don’t. Yet he… Read more »
Even if becomes world class, we don’t want another self important footballer with a ego bigger than Emirates stadium
He’s another Anelka.
Get fucking rid.
didnt anelka win the double with us? wouldnt mind another anelka
The Incredible Sulk and his interfering Agent brother. A right pain in the arse.
Still, with the money we got for him, we financed our (then) new training centre and went on to win more titles and go a season in the league unbeaten. And do another double. And sign Henry.
Anelka wasn’t missed.
Has anyone heard of a similar situation? Where a player is brought in for big money, plays a couple of friendly games only to be left out of the squad entirely, not even getting a chance to play against opponents well below the level he is accustomed to from his old club.
Arsenal, where we create precedence in incompetence.
It’s rather becoming discomforting that young players don’t recognise Arteta can improve them for good reason too. Even Eddie that was his project, he’s given up on. Willock was playing tons of matches, he didn’t have a plan for him, now on loan. Nelson, after all the praise Arteta gave him, nowhere to be seen. Ditto AMN, loan. Balogun can’t get a game, Saliba was treated like a 13 year old scholar (compare with Leicester and Fofana) and rightly doesn’t want back. Couldn’t manage Guendouzi who called his bluff and left. I am not sure either he wants back. Gabriel… Read more »
Yep, sadly this has been his Modis Operendi since joining Arsenal. He seems recalcitrant to changing anything. He was forced into ESR (Willian out) and he’s been wonderous, but if Willian wasn’t out it’s easy to argue it would have been more of the same that might have cost him his job. Luiz was doing well while Mari and Gabriel were out, then Gabriel is back fit and despite knowing Luiz would eventually do a David Luiz he stuck with him instead of trusting his young gun that has been a revelation. Pepe was basically forced into being played right… Read more »
The project is competing with the likes of Southampton for a place in the top half. Or the likes of West Ham and Villa…oh wait
Don’t worry, people will tell u that its because Arteta has a bad squad that needs a few 50m signings like Partey to compete…Just like Man City
If a player of Runarsson’s level has been given chance in Europa league, then surely Saliba could have also been developed through that route. Despite Saliba’s frustration again and again it’s good to see that he accepts that these things happen in football. Just like the club signed Willian to give him retirement funding.
I don’t think that’s a realistic comparison. Runarsson ended up as second choice because we couldn’t get another keeper in, not coz that was the plan. The failure to sort the paperwork for Saliba’s loan was annoying but that was still a reasonable option
I agree with the slight annoyance that can be spotted in Andrew Allen’s words in the article. Yes, he has been judged, but he himself was admitting in previous interviews that he hasn’t been ready. And while we all agree that Arteta doesn’t treat players equally and doesn’t give all of them the same amount of chances, he has to understand the position he is in right now with the club and decide what he want to do further: establish himself at Arsenal, or being cocky while in good form and burn all the bridges. I don’t see how the… Read more »
Think he wants out
Show the cunt the door.
Sums up Arteta. Most of his ‘revolutionary’ moves were forced by injury in December. Saka on the right Pepe left. Smith Rowe. He’s not playing Martinelli because he didn’t follow instruction for 45 minutes (happened to be the best player on the pitch during those). AMN has one bad game and gets shipped off. Joe’s Willock is given zero game time now comes good at Newcastle. As for Balogun, another missed chance as he’ll go elsewhere due to not fitting Arteta’s rain man philosophising. Saliba shows how talent can blossom and will probably nob off. I don’t blame him. In… Read more »
Spot on.
The way some people talk on here, slipping to 15th in the table and being forced to play ESR and Saka – in a last ditch throw of the dice that actually worked – was all part of the master plan. All part of The Process.
Under Arteta, we made our worst start for 40 years. He was three games from the axe – and he got lucky, by the skin of his bollocks.
Yet the revisionists and Alzheimers dept on here twist and turn it to suit their own LEGO Agenda.
Slightly struggling to see why so many people seem to think Arteta should shoulder the majority of the blame here. Arteta was still at Man City when we decided to shell out 27m for an 18 year old CB. Saliba isn’t Arteta’s man so to speak, so if he deems he isn’t ready that isn’t on him in my opinion – board’s fault. Arteta isn’t the man responsible for sorting out loans for players, if he didn’t sanction one at all then of course that’s his fault but I find that highly unlikely – board/Edu’s fault. Arteta didn’t register him… Read more »
I agree. Arteta comes in, watches Saliba train, and decides he is not ready for his first team. Not his fault at all.
Does he not watch Willian train then?
arteta thinks he can only have one passanger in his team. william is the passanger, MA is okay with that.
I wonder if any1 can confirm the real reason WS was sent to Coventry? Lots of stuff coming through on line right now and if true we might never see him in the famous red and white again
Saliba needs media training. Btw some are saying that when translated into English, what he said was less confrontational
Make no mistake. Arteta’s treatment of Saliba and Guendozi was a disgrace, and this is just what he deserves.
Arsenal needs those players much more than either of them need Arsenal.
It is now up to Arteta to get off of his high horse and realise that he is not the lord of the manor.
Learn to manage people who will not simply bend their neck to you.
Start of next season will be very interesting.
Well, he certainly does sound like he’s only 19, doesn’t he? Ugh.
I want him to return and really push Holding hard for that 1st team place. Would be great to see but I’m getting tired of his whinging and poor little me chats. We have not been a great help to him this season and yet he should also acknowledge the bloated numbers of CB’s we had at the start of the season and accept, being a young guy, with very little experience, that means you’re near the bottom of the pecking order…for now. Your 30mill price tag is just a bit of sprinkled glitter on your name till you prove… Read more »
The trouble is that this season we are a mid-table team with a mid-table defense. I mean if your manager reckons that you are a worse defender than Luiz (I still have not forgotten him at his prime playing for Brazil in 2014 against Germany), Mustafi and even Holding (at best an average Premier league player) what is your motivation to have a career at Arsenal? Especially when you watch your competion that Arteta rates as currently better than you mess up regularly and lose game afer game after game. I have never seen him play but if he does… Read more »
Our defence its actually second or 3rd best in the league, its our attack that has kept us mid table. Saliba in that respect still wouldn’t be getting game time. I mean he might but we hardly saw Mustafi while he remained. Still have only seen Chambers what…once, since his return? There have been 5 senior regulars and thats even if you can call Mari a regular after his impressive but brief showing. Its not even about thinking “you’re worse” that’s putting words in mouths, Arteta said he doesn’t think he’s ready. There is a very big difference in that,… Read more »
1) If your manager picks players in your position before you then he obviously must think they are currently better than you. 2) Luiz has always been a luxury player needing good defenders around him to cover whilst he played his passes from the back. When put under pressure he always has crumbled. Look up the first half of Brazil vs Germany 2014. Now his legs have gone he really is that bad now and is only able to play at his pace slowing the play down when the team need to play at a quicker pace. When put under… Read more »
1) Yes… for now. Fair call. You have to prove yourself otherwise. Saliba had not. 2) Yes Luiz has bad games. Luiz has many more good games than bad games. You can point out all his serious fuck ups, and then add on top all his just bad games… And hes still played way more good to excellent games than bad ones. You dont get to his level with such stats reversed. 3) Arteta needed to gear the whole team to cover the defence because thats how you learn how to defend. Arsenal had not a fucking clue how to… Read more »
2) We’ll have to agree to disagree on Luiz as you clearly see something that I do not. For me he was overrated as a defender even in his prime. Now he is an absolute liability. 3)You had said we had 3rd best defense according to goals against (true) and I pointed out that as 10 members of the team were in defense to cover the shakiness of it this camouflaged the problem making it appear better than it is. Yes Wenger and Emery were cluless in organising the defense but we have real problems still. 4) How does Saliba… Read more »
2) Fair enough. Still stands though, you do not get to Luiz’s stature and with his accolades by being shit. I hope we do not extend his contract because as you say, time is not on his side and its obviously only downhill from here. 3) We defend as a team should defend. That requires most of the team to chip in. Thats not covering the defence that is defence. Our problem in defence is predominantly based around Xhaka and Bellarin. Xhaka has improved with PArtey next to him but hes slow n clumsy. Bellarin cant tackle. Replace them both… Read more »
I think we will have to agree to dissagree on this as you are not going to convince me that Arsenal are a top team with a decent defense and coherent strategy and I am not going to convice you that we are doing the wrong thing being a mid-table club playing “pension” players (Luiz, Willian, Soares etc) before the youngsters thereby easing those young players out the door (Saliba, Balogum, AMN, Reiss etc)
I just don’t want to see Luiz as a starter anymore,
I prefer Luiz to this little prick now. I prefer Mustafi to this little prick.
Since everybody is talking about the video, why is it that I heard five bloggers (not this one) mention it but not one of them said the name of the player pleasuring himself? The video is wired given the surroundings but masturbating is not. Plenty of people masturbate in front of other/a group of people. It’s not my thing but I respect peoples right to choose as long as they are not breaking the law. ……..Saliba did nothing wrong My reaction would have had a lot more expletives and less recording but a teenage kid seeing a peer doing something… Read more »
I’ve seen people say this is from 3/4 years ago.
His name is Robert Paulson
Saliba has forgotten that the manager himself has know time on his job too
so he will go for who is ready to do the job quicker. Remember the manager is judged on a short time too. Everyone that will work for him must also be in such category
We are a mid-table team this seaon. I don’t think that is good enough for a club of our stature. Currently my judgement on Arteta is that he clearly is getting things wrong like:
He needs to get grip and get these things right consistantly.
You know who else is being shafted big time? Reiss Nelson. How Willian keeps playing above him and martinelli, I’ll never know.
We had saka, martinelli, Pepe, nelson, AMN, ESR, Auba (albeit some were injured, but we knew they’d come back) who could all play on the wing and we decide to go out and buy Willian. GeNiUs!!!!!!
I agree. Arteta needs to look to the future to solve our problems not keep picking the “pension” players
You know what, we as fans keep being optimistic that the management will learn from their mistakes. But time and again they keep making the same mistakes and then some new ones. I know it’s not an easy job, but other clubs seem to be doing it better, meaning it’s not impossible.
How can we ever compete with them on the pitch if we can’t even stop shooting ourselves in the foot time and again?
Sadly that is the conclusion I am coming to as well. The “pension” player route doesn’t seem to work.Why not give the youngsters a good run uninterupted by the likes of Willlian and Luiz.
My fear is that Arteta will keep picking them and indeed will look to renew contracts.
He thought we were buying Sane, :))
Lol!!!
🤣
How can this be? Obviously Saliba is a talent – he’s showing it. Why was he disregarded so hastily? Does the manager put his ego before the good of the club? Yes he may have needed a loan, but why was he treated so terribly? I can’t remember Wenger ever handling Arsenal’s investments/assets as badly, as this now looks serious. However this current manager favoured – and still plays Willian! Where is the logic in it? It is easily avoidable shit if you ask me…This manager makes his own mountains to climb needlessly. He wasn’t popular with all as player… Read more »
He has gone full retard.. never go full retard
What’s the betting that Arteta will still take him back?
2/1 on? 6/4 favourite?