According to Ouest-France, relayed by GFFN, William Saliba has rejected the opportunity to spend next season on loan with Rennes.
It’s reported that the 20-year-old was unimpressed with the way the Ligue 1 side courted his signature last summer only to go cold towards the end of the transfer window.
Late in the day, Arsenal subsequently tried to farm the youngster back out to Saint-Etienne but seemingly fluffed the paperwork meaning Saliba, who hadn’t been registered for the Premier League squad, spent three months confined to the sidelines.
Despite Rennes showing further interest, he eventually moved to Nice in January and played 22 games.
Saliba was due to report to London Colney for the commencement of Arsenal’s pre-season preparations on 7 July. However, having been included in France’s squad for the Olympic football tournament in Tokyo, it’s likely he’ll join their training camp instead.
Having been signed for £27 million in 2018, supporters are keen for Mikel Arteta to give Saliba a chance to challenge for a first team place in the upcoming campaign. As things stand, it’s unclear what the club wants to do with him.
Given his age and the apparent willingness to spend £50 million on Brighton’s Ben White – another centre-back – it’s more than possible that we will sanction another loan. Marseille and Newcastle are both thought to have been in touch.
At a time when the club is looking to sell players to fund a squad rebuild, it’s also possible the player could be sold.
Thought initially this meant we’d rejected a bid, and finally shown him some love.
Alas once again, our Billy has no mates at Colney.
Nobody dares sell our Saliba until proven
Arteta & Edu will wait until there are couple of impressive signings and then slip him out the door. He must have fallen out with the manager to be treated with such contempt.
It will be very painful if he becomes a top player somewhere else.
“It will be very ARSENAL if he becomes a top player somewhere else.”
Fixed!
To be fair, apart from Gnabry, we don’t have a history of our young players leaving and then developing into top players.
Donyell Malen, Ismael Bennacer, to add to the list
wojciech szczesny
emi martinez
arteta was a bang average player and is proving to be a bang average manager– hope he is sacked by xmas
You’re a below par fan!
That’s not fair. He is entitled 2 his opinion however unpalatable
But where is the lie???Besides fa cup and community shield what has he done besides giving villareal the final?
He’s improved both Saka and ESR. He’s also tightened up the defence and has strengthened the squad. Hopefully with some top signings coming in we will see us moving to a new level
Agreed, my sharpest memories of Arteta playing for us are ones of frustration at how overly cautious he was on the ball. He worked hard and was a tidy player, that’s about it. He wasn’t bad by any stretch, but he always seemed a bit of an anxiety case, which showed in his play. He has that same quality on the touch line. He has one more year, he better make it a good one.
I never had a problem with him until his last season and a bit, where he looked liked he was running through treacle. His performance in the game against Everton where they won 3-0 made me want to punch my TV.
Szcezney and Martinez weren’t young when they left us, and were already good when they left.
We do have players who were developed by us and played their prime years elsewhere. Chelsea City Barcelona.
Alex Song at Barcelona wasn’t a top player.
Fabregas, Hleb, Overmars?
Did we develop Hleb and Overmars?
I don’t understand. So what are your parameters for developing a player then? Because Alex Song wasn’t an Arsenal academy graduate.
Overmars and Hleb both came to Arsenal at age ~24, that’s not exactly the prime age-range for a footballer.
We can thank Darren Dein( son of the beloved David Dein) for convincing a lot of those players to leave. Especially to Man City
Not enough people talk about this…not sure why?
I really do not know. I can only guess that it probably sullies a legacy of the Dein family that some gooners would prefer remain untainted.
It’s common behaviour to remember a nostalgic past through rose-tinted glasses.
You don’t always have to have a long track record of doing a thing for you to be known for it. Sometimes once or twice is enough.
I don’t see where people are ginning up all of this malfeasance and contempt from. The article says clearly itself- Rennes dicked him around, and Mikel admitted Arsenal bollixed the paperwork for Etienne.
He had family troubles going on, and he might not have been in the mental space and performing at that moment. In that situation the manager has got to make a call. Whether or not it was the correct call is debatable, but it in no way evidences ill intent.
Screwing something up hardly evidences contempt.
And on it goes…
This Saliba situ for me is just crazy, he has qualities enough for Arsenal to shell out 27 million for him, make France’s Olympic team, get courted by all these teams, but apparently not good enough to make a cameo for Arsenal even in a friendly match for fans to see?. Dosen’t add up for me🤷♂️
Here’s my take. Saliba turns up with a bit of an attitude. Arteta thinks “I’ll show you” and farms him out. Saliba talks A LOT on loan and also a rather unsavoury video appears. Arteta thinks “I do not like this player”. Arteta is all about players buying into the project. And if he doesn’t think Saliba will, then he doesn’t want him around the club. He’s just spent millions getting rid of the Ozil effect. I know this is a harsh judgement of Saliba and maybe I’m way off. But what other reason could there be for such clear… Read more »
We either keep Saliba and play him, or we put him on a new 5yr deal, and loan him out domestically, somewhere he’ll play every week Young players need to play competitive football consistently in order to develop, and the worst possible outcome is we keep Saliba, and he sits in the stands for 80%+ of the season, stalling his development In the cold light of day, being benched for the majority of the season, will annoy him more, than being given a pay rise, and being sent to actually play competitive football consistently so he can develop I can… Read more »
Great post.
I think that you’re more or less spot on. It’s obvious that Arteta just doesn’t like this player and wants to get rid of him. It’s not about Saliba’s ability, it’s his attitude. It looks like he’s rubbed Arteta up the wrong way and the boss just wants to get rid of him. All this begs the question: why didn’t Edu look into Saliba’s personality before he bought him?
I hope we sell Saliba this summer and put an end to this situation. The nightmare scenario is that we end up with another Ozil.
Exactly. Why are we persisting when it must be obvious that he’s never going to feature under Arteta. Just get him sold soon and invest the money on someone with some creativity. Please.
Yeah, I’m inclined to agree. If selling Saliba is the difference between getting a James Maddison or a Sabitzer then we should shift. With Mr White at the back we are going to be fine for CBs. Maybe Saliba will become a world renowned centre back and we’ll look ridiculous. But chances are he becomes a good defender that plays at about the level we currently are.
Having said that, we are gooners and will find drama and despair at every turn.
“Calum Chambers won’t sign a new deal!”
“Karl Hein isn’t getting enough game time!”
“Balogun can’t get in the Rotherham side and is now on 30k a year!”
“Saka liked a Sterling tweet!”
“Stan’s dividend has gone up!”
“We’re top of the league!”
Ad nauseam.
I disagree. I don’t think it’s a case of attitude or ability. I think it’s more a case of Arteta’s risk-averse nature (as is evident in our style of play). He knows his managerial record in the league has been mediocre and he doesn’t want to risk his job by playing a young CB in defence in case mistakes happen. Saliba isn’t Özil, he’s not refusing to go out on loan nor was he skipping away matches or training sessions at ASSE. He also isn’t Guendouzi. I haven’t heard any reports of him fighting teammates or clashing with coaches at… Read more »
If Club hierarchy see him as an asset which I am sure they do, will not sell unless money is recouped or will send out him on loan with a PL to protect his value. If Arteta goes within this season, he will get his chance. I think, if no serious offer (>25 million) comes in, he will go out on loan again.
Yup. Arteta’s ego at work again.
Good thing we have no more European semifinals for him to fuck up.
Hear! Hear!
I think this would sound weird if you shouted it the way you’ve punctuated it.
Johnny’s initial take makes a lot of sense. The thing that seems weird to me is that when asked about Saliba whilst he was on loan with St Etienne, Arteta seemed to play down his ability/chances of getting into the team. To me, it seems like it’s a case of Arteta thinking anyone signed under Emery is not good enough because he didn’t identify them. Torreira wasn’t really given a chance after his ankle injury, Guendouzi has been shipped off (obviously with mitigating circumstances there) and he retained Eddie Nketiah instead of sending him out on loan, at the expense… Read more »
I think this is spot on. I also think there’s an element of Arteta believing that either Saliba is yet ready for the EPL or Saliba not fitting well into the type of system Arteta wants to play, i.e., maybe he thinks he’s not yet good enough on the ball.
I also sense that Arteta is like my former boss, a first impression kind of guy. And I posit that his first encounters with Saliba weren’t all positive.
I think his price tag has gotten to his head a little bit. Plus it may not be about his talent but rather a mentality thing. Arsenal are a big club. How many 19yr old CBs do you see playing for a big club week after week?
Do you have any evidence for this statement?
This statement:
“It’s reported that the 20-year-old was unimpressed with the way the Ligue 1 side courted his signature last summer…”
It could just be the phrasing, but it makes him sound a little too big for his boots
Let’s see…….
Saliba before he was bought by Arsenal
Gomez Liverpool, Christianson CFC, hollgate Everton, fourna LFC, Ben White , zuoma CFC/ scfc, kousna avfc, Phil Jones , Chris smalling utd, , stones efc, Spanish lad at city had a few games now gone Barca ( none of these every week starters , some were, but got a chance aged 18-21)…
Etc…
De Ligt didn’t do too badly.
The irony of an out of his depth rookie manager not giving a rookie central defender a chance because he thinks he’s not ready while making a load of rookie mistakes as a rookie manager.
This!
That’s not irony at all. It’s logic. If you are inexperienced yourself, you’d do well to have experienced individuals around you to compensate for the volatility of outcomes that inexperience can bring. You certainly don’t add inexperience to inexperience and expect a stable outcome.
Obviously, the experience they picked has been varied (Willian vs Luiz), but having some experienced leaders in the dressing room that back a new manager is usually a good way to help get the dressing room on board as a whole.
Sorry bob but it is not logic. How much adding of inexperience to inexperience is too much? How does that involve continuously excluding a particular player? He didn’t even make the EL squad. That’s 6 ‘safe’ games to give the player a run. Wasn’t picked in a couple of easy League Cup fixtures despite being eligible. Recall also that he was excluded from the squad with a preference for the injured Mustafi who was out until early December. Additionally Mustafi was looking unlikely to be signing a new deal and also shit. EL, League Cup and the odd sub appearance… Read more »
It’s outstanding to see. Teta has even got Gooners questioning a twenty year old’s ability more than a man who has led us to back to back 8th placed finishes.
Nobody does joke scenarios quite like us….
I’d love a newcastle/prem loan for him to get used to the Premier league.
Crystal Palace. Let Vieira take care of him, for us
I see a come back for Roy Hodgson before xmas
Vieira is by no means a bad coach though. He had a good tenure in the MLS. He also had two good seasons with Nice, the second in which they qualified for the Europa League. Obviously he was sacked because Nice suffered five winless games in a row but so did Arsenal under Arteta and he’s still here. Unlike Mikel, he had a very low transfer budget despite their best players being sold. The club only moved from 11th to 9th after he was sacked. I think it would be a good loan for Saliba, he’d be under a manager… Read more »
Shame….maybe could have helped get Camavinga. If he has a future at Arsenal he should go on load to Prem side and learn the ropes and the language. If not sell him
Whatever the reason for Saliba’s treatment, poor discipline, bad attitude whatever it may be – just give him a chance. Don’t sell him. Let’s not forget he’s still a kid, he’s going to make some cock ups and do some stupid things. He’s clearly got bucket fulls of talent, don’t sell him off and waste that. Loan to Newcastle seems like a great idea, but don’t sell him without even giving him a chance. That would be a colossal mistake, if managed properly can easily see him growing into a world class CB, he’s got all the characteristics except his… Read more »
Good point. Luke Shaw is a good example of the difference it makes when a player has a manager’s support.
looks like Willy holds a grudge. Maybe he’s still got a grudge against Arteta and Arsenal too
Best thing if he isn’t going to play, is a new contract extension and a loan move to the Prem. works for all if we sign another CB like Ben White. Would be extra disappointing to not see him play for us. Fofana for Leicester was brilliant last season and Saliba was touted to have been a better prospect
Definitely. If he isn’t ready, mentally or otherwise, to play for us next season, we really need him to play in the PL.
Would either get him ready to slot in the squad the season after, or raise his value. He’s not learning efficiently if he stays at Ligue 1 clubs.
Signed in 2019. It just feels like it was 2018.
This is bollocks. I can’t even be bothered with the who/why/what anymore. Just sell this guy and move on. For fucks sake!
I hear you but based on his performance thus far I just can’t see anyone taking Arteta off our hands
Saliba NEEDS to be given an opportunity. Period.
Anything else is unconscionable.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a club investing this much in a player and not giving him a chance at all.
If he leaves without playing ONCE, both Arteta and Edu should be fired.
Not that they should have kept their jobs after last season, mind you.
That Spanish dude, who authorised his signing, is already fired. Why should guys who had nothing with this should be fired?
Stupid logic from ignorant fan.
Right. So the signing was the issue, which we know because Saliva has been bad when he’s played – oh, wait, he hasn’t actually played for us!
So we know that he’s bad because he’s been bad when he’s played elsewhere – except, no, he’s been pretty good actually, better than expected, even.
What are you basing this assumption that the signing was a bad one on?
Would it by any chance be the assessment of the player by the same brilliant football minds who thought Willian would be a better option than Pepe?
Oh sorry, I missed your name. So I apologise! I was trolled :).
Thumbs up!
People really get wound up about Saliba don’t they?
I don’t really see what’s controversial about Arsenal not wanting to add to their problems by playing a young and inexperienced central defender, in fact it seems like one of the more sensible decisions they’ve made.
He’s got years on his contract and needs regular matches, preferably in the Premier League. Send him out on loan for another year and let him iron out some of the flaws in his game at someone else’s expense.
You don’t see this level of navel gazing by Real Madrid fan’s regarding Odegaard do you?
Real Madrid is going down the toilet together with its finances for that very reason alone.
Yes, their finances are down the toilet because they keep on loaning out Odegaard.
And if going down the toilet is 3 Champions League titles in the last 5 years and a 2nd placed finish last season sign me up!
Their finances are down the toilet because they have spent and spent and not given a fuck about players coming, going or being used or not. Their finances are so in the toilet thanks to that they still desperately cling to the dead and buried project of the ESR because it’s a lifeline they hope will save them.
Same goes for their old for Barcelona. No CL trophy of the past is going to change that.
A lot of Real Madrid’s debt is due to stadium renovations not just transfer fee’s, and they could easily sell a few players to ease those problems. We’d give them £50-60m for Odegaard tomorrow if we were shown some encouragement.
As for the Super League, i think there’s more than one factor involved. 1, The group of 3 still in dispute with UEFA really want to question their authority and 2, my guess is they know just how fucked the rest of football’s finances are and think this idea will have to be revisited.
As opposed to renewing David Luiz to continue at CB? The same David Luiz “leadership” and “experience” that would rather elbow an opposition player in front of the ref when we’re chasing a goal late in the game? The David Luiz that would rather hopelessly charge forward and lose the ball than see out the Wolves game we were leading before half-time? Yes he had a great game against City in the FA Cup and he did a nice hollywood pass every once in a while but his experience was grossly overrated here at Arsenal. How good was his leadership… Read more »
We haven’t renewed Luis’s contract though have we?
But considering the warmth shown by the squad and staff when he did leave we can safely say that his leadership and professionalism were much appreciated by those that really count!
Well it’s a shame our points tally couldn’t get in on that appreciation party. But I suppose points don’t really count after all.
P.S. I was referring to the season just past. We renewed his contract after the defeat to City. Which was incidentally the second worst performance by David Luiz as a professional football. It’s only topped by that 1-7 game, which is what you get when you trust David Luiz’ leadership.
Considering the cultural issues Arteta has had to fix at the club points aren’t his sole focus. In a season in which the club has literally paid players to fuck off, such was the disruption off the pitch that they caused, it shows you just how important having a character like Luiz around was/is. It’s interesting that you complain about our points tally and then propose a 20 year old central defender coveted on loan by the likes of Rennes and Nice as the solution. Surely we should be using the quality of the clubs interested in signing Saliba as… Read more »
Are you really implying that maintaining a respectable points tally shouldn’t have to be a FOOTBALL MANAGER’S main focus? Please tell me you’re joking. Yes, Mikel has had cultural issues at the club to fix but you’re acting like as if he’s being asked to part the Red Sea. You realise we wouldn’t have had to pay off and unregister players if we hadn’t resigned Luiz or signed Willian + Cedric, both of whom we didn’t even need. When Arteta was appointed, he basically said he would introduce a culture of meritocracy, discipline (non-negotiables),high-tempo football and a desire to play… Read more »
You can clearly see what I’ve written if you take the time to actually read it. Did it occur to you that Ozil, Mustafi and Kolasinac were such cunts that not only were the club prepared to pay them to fuck off but were prepared to replace them with Luiz, Willian and Cedric? Probably not as it doesn’t seem that you do much in the way of thinking. I don’t know why Arteta picks who he picks, but it’s his job and his prerogative to pick whomever he chooses. And given he actually knows the players and doesn’t just comment… Read more »
Oh I’ve read what you’ve written, I was just so bewildered by what I read, I might have missed out on those extra tidbits. Apologies if my mental faculties aren’t keeping up with yours but how does your line of reasoning make sense if: (1) The club also paid to terminate the contracts of Sokratis and Mkhitaryan early. Were they also part of this c*** brigade? (2) The club allegedly tried to offer Mustafi a new contract? Was this Stockholm Syndrome in play? You’re entitled to believe what you wish. I, however, believe that just because a person wears a… Read more »
Wenger once, several years before he left, loaned players out to Real Madrid and Juventus but when he finally did leave us, we were 33 points off top spot and closer to relegation than winning the league. Arteta has reversed that, so there is an improvement. Any manager we get is dealing with the legacy of the damage Wenger left, both on and off the pitch, it was always going to take years to fix, and we’ve barely started that process. Personally, i agree that Arteta was too inexperienced for the job and I certainly wouldn’t have given it to… Read more »
This Saliba thing doesn’t make sense. SMH
The issue is a consequence of changing managers and sporting directors, when you have a clear vision with stability in management players are identified and usually get an opportunity especially at this fee.
Maybe he will get his opportunity when Vieira takes over before Christmas after he impresses by leading Crystal Palace into mid table a place or 2 above an Arsenal struggling with their difficult opening run of fixtures.
Dedpite the probable stench associated with Raul and this deal, I can’t get passed this kid’s rep as one of the best young players in Europe. His performances for Nice were consistently above average for a CB of any age. If he stands out as one of the best at the Olympics and Arteta still shuns him, you’ve got to ask—in a period where the club is prioritizing talented young players to replace the older profile players—what could make Arteta so resistant to giving the kid a shot…?
The club/manager is entertaining thoughts an another loan?!
The Rennes story is very interesting. If it’s true, as reported, that Arsenal and Saliba fully expected him to go on loan there then Rennes pulled out last minute, it significantly shifts the blame for His non- inclusion last season. I still think we could have managed the situation better, but I’d hope he deeply represents Rennes, not us
Pay out £27 million for a player that will never kick a ball in anger for the club.
£27 million down the drain. Money that this club cannot afford to waste.
Has there ever been a larger display of managerial incompetence than this?
Pepe?
Gallas.
Turning down £60m for Sánchez then swapping him a few months later?
If he really is desperate to prove himself why not say no to the Olympics and turn up early for pre-season?
I’m surprised that the first Arseblog article of the day isn’t the AMN car accident. We’re lucky it wasn’t fatal or anything serious.
As for Willy Saliba, if he’s to go on loan, I hope it’s to a premier league side like Brighton or Brentford. He’s just going to have to be patient while Arteta is here it seems.
This situation is so completely over-the-top ridiculous. I had a couple paragraphs typed out, but what’s the point? Handled very very poorly. Lack of transparency (seems to be more common with this club anymore) A big strike against Arteta in my opinion.
I’m reaching the point where I think there is something dodgy here. Either something happened behind the scenes with the player, or more likely, something dodgy in Don Raul and his recruitment of the player. And the only way to avoid scrutiny they keep farming him up. Yeah, I’m wearing a tin foil hat
Our defence was just about the only thing that functioned ok last season. We’ve got cover in every defensive position if you include Saka. We have much bigger problems up the pitch. I hate to say it but I don’t think MA knows what he’s doing.
If we are tight for cash, not giving Saliba a chance is stupid. If we are not as tight on cash as thought…then im not so bothered. Part of me thinks it could well be about Saliba not being Arteta’s buy. Maybe… its because Saliba aint Arteta’s buy? Has not been a model player since Arteta arrived? Arteta doesnt want to risk his job on a young CB? Arteta doesnt rate him at all? Whatever… If Saliba never kicks a ball for Arsenal competitively I couldnt give a shit. Only thing that matters is if we do not sell him… Read more »