William Saliba has admitted he was “hurt” not to play a single game for Arsenal in the first half of the 2020/21 season. Saliba is yet to play for the Gunners since his £27million move from Saint-Etienne in 2019 but wants to be a regular when he returns next term.
The centre-back is currently enjoying his third loan spell away from the Emirates. He was part of Mikel Arteta‘s squad from the summer of 2020 and featured in a pre-season match away to MK Dons.
However, Saliba was not named in a single match day squad by Arteta for the first half of the campaign. He was then loaned out to Nice in January 2021 before moving to Marseille last summer.
The 21-year-old made his senior debut for France in the recent international break. He says Arsenal keep in contact with his representatives but has warned Arteta he will not accept a bit-part role next season.
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“What happened to me helped forge a mental toughness. You don’t play just because you cost €30million. I take it positively.
“Even if there are times when you ask yourself questions. For six months, I saw that I was the only one in the group not to play, it hurt.
“I’m sure I can’t just be on the bench at Arsenal and be happy. I want to play as a starter. Afterwards, if I come into the rotation as a substitute, it’s not like staying with the Under-23s and never being in the squad.”
Arteta was asked about Saliba at his press conference on Thursday. And the Spaniard revealed his happiness at the player’s development.
Arteta said: “Obviously we are really aware of what he’s doing, how he’s developing. He’s our player, I think we are really happy with the decision we made because again the exposure and minutes and responsibility and his growth at his age is something that we could not guarantee this season.
“It makes a lot of sense what is happening with him and we are glad to see the way that he’s improving.”
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