Mikel Arteta says he actually didn’t have a great relationship with one Arsenal player when he joined

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Mikel Arteta has overseen a lot of changes at Arsenal over the years.

The Spaniard took charge of the Gunners when they were in a terrible position. They had an ageing squad, many players who should’ve been moved on years ago were still at the club, and the atmosphere around the Emirates was truly awful.

Arteta even had some troubles with a few players. Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi were banished from his side in his debut season, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang suffered the same fate a few years later.

There was another player who had disagreements with Arteta early on, but their relationship is stronger than ever now.

Mikel Arteta opens up on his relationship with William Saliba in the beginning

When Mikel Arteta was appointed as the Arsenal manager, William Saliba was on loan at Saint-Etienne.

The Frenchman returned to Arsenal in the summer and was even on the bench for the Community Shield against Liverpool. He also played in a friendly for the Gunners.

However, Arteta left him out of the squad for the first half of the campaign, and that led to a lot of speculation that the Spaniard didn’t want him at the club.

Saliba was first sent out on loan to Nice for six months and then to Marseille for a whole season.

Arteta has now revealed that his relationship with Saliba wasn’t the greatest at the time because they disagreed about the right path about his development.

He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “Probably all of them (he exceeded all expectations). I would say, especially, the way we started our relationship.

“Probably we had different expectations or ideas of how to create the best pathway for him to fulfil his potential. But I think at some point we got to the same conclusion, to the same line, and we started to work together. 

“From there, with the help of all the coaches and players, everything started to flourish because it was clear that the potential was there. It was about timing and especially, in my opinion, creating the right environment and players for him to deliver what he could do.”

Mikel Arteta reveals his first words to William Saliba before giving him a chance at Arsenal

It must have been really tough for Saliba in his first few years at Arsenal.

The manager who signed him, Unai Emery, was sacked before he could return on loan, and Arteta clearly didn’t think he was ready when he first saw him.

However, after Saliba returned from Marseille and trained with the first-team, the Arsenal manager was convinced.

He said: “After that, when I saw him and looked in his eyes, I said: “In my opinion you are ready, what do you think?” And he said: “Yeah, I’m ready.” And then we started and everything started to flourish.”

Saliba has since been phenomenal for Arsenal, and he is set to commit his future to the club now.