Out of all the players at the club, Salah-Eddine was one of the standout performers for Arsenal during pre-season at different levels.
The midfielder showed some encouraging signs for the first-team in the United States and also caught the eye for the U21s after returning from his loan spell at Den Bosch.
Since then, Salah-Eddine has been named on the bench for the first-team on two occasions for competitive games – he was an unused substitute against Brighton and Atalanta.
The 21-year-old will be aiming to make his competitive senior debut for Arsenal against Bolton in the Carabao Cup next week depending on which other players are available.
However, despite his recent involvement with the first-team, it still remains to be seen where Salah-Eddine’s long-term future lies.
With his contract set to expire at the end of this season, a decision has yet to be made on what will happen with Salah-Eddine in the long term. Another loan spell could perhaps be beneficial but he is also now at an age where he needs to start playing regularly somewhere.
A former Dutch youth international who is also eligible to represent Morocco, Salah-Eddine is capable of progressing play with clever passes and he also has excellent technical ability.
It could well be the case that Arsenal will wait until January to re-assess the situation, but at some stage there will need to be clarity on Salah-Eddine’s future.
—
Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Gotta say he looked neat and tidy during the US tour, time though isn’t on his side at 21 and 4 years older than say Nwaneri.
Bolton would seem just the right time for him to make some kind of breakthrough if there’s a place available?
Bolton are big, physical, intimidating team who will look to bully Arsenal if we go too inexperienced, so a fine balancing act in terms of line up
Stay focused; keep working.