William Saliba’s early life at Arsenal did not go as smoothly as he would’ve liked.
The Frenchman’s childhood dream of playing for the Gunners came true when Unai Emery signed him in the summer of 2019.
Saliba spent the first season on loan back at Saint-Etienne, but he hoped for regular chances at Arsenal on his return the following year.
However, things did not go to plan, and he has now shared some fresh details about what happened.
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Arsenal tried to send William Saliba on loan to Crystal Palace and Newcastle United
When William Saliba returned from his first loan spell, Emery was no longer there.
Mikel Arteta had replaced him as the Arsenal manager, and he just wasn’t convinced that the Frenchman was ready for Premier League football.
Saliba spent half of that season without playing a single senior minute of football. He was then loaned to OGC Nice for the second part of the campaign.
On his return, the defender has revealed now that Arsenal tried to push him to join one of two Premier League clubs on loan.
He said, as per Football London: “They didn’t even tell me to come back during pre-season. They told me to find a club on loan.
“Arsenal wanted me to go to Newcastle or Crystal Palace, but I didn’t want to.
“I remember that summer, it was either Lille or Marseille. I was very close to going to Lille, but there was a financial problem.”
William Saliba’s loan decision may have saved his Arsenal career
Arsenal were not wrong to push Saliba towards Newcastle or Crystal Palace because Premier League experience was the logical next step for him.
However, Saliba’s decision to go to Marseille instead proved to be the right one.
The Frenchman was a mainstay in Jorge Sampaoli’s side and produced a number of truly exceptional performances for them.
Saliba was so good there that he even earned a call-up to Didier Deschamps’ France national team.
That probably changed Arteta’s mind, and the rest, as they say, is history.
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