Arsenal invincible sends message to Saliba over Gunners future
Former Arsenal man Lauren has urged William Saliba to concentrate on developing at Marseille this season whilst out on loan at the Ligue 1 club.
Saliba joined the Gunners from St Etienne in 2019 before being loaned back the French club for the 2019/20 season.
The following summer it seemed like the young defender would be given a chance by Mikel Arteta in the first-team. However, this was not the case.
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The Frenchman only featured for the club’s Under-23s before being loaned back to his home country in January, joining Nice for the second half of last season.
And for the third consecutive season, Saliba has been loaned out to a Ligue 1 club, this time Marseille.
The Orange Vélodrome club are currently second in the league and are yet to lose a match this campaign.
Saliba has impressed under former Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli so far, alongside fellow Arsenal loanee Matteo Guendouzi.
The 20-year-old’s future when he returns to north London is uncertain, but club legend Lauren has advised the France U21 international to stay focused on his development this season and ignore speculation surrounding his future.
“I don’t know what Arteta should and should not be doing, but what I know is that Saliba has to do what he’s been doing so far,” he told Bonus Finder.
“Be your best while at Marseille and then you get your chance to come back to Arsenal or maybe another club.
“The fact he’s doing well so far shows that he has a chance once he comes back to the team.”
The Gunners have kept a clean sheet in their last two league matches after conceding nine in their first three, but Lauren believes Arteta’s defensive options are good enough.
He added: “In this case, I believe the team is balanced in that area with White, Gabriel and Holding in those positions.
“That position is currently covered, and Ben White is more technical with the ball and he can play under pressure.
“He has a good passing range for a centre back and then Gabriel is more aggressive in his play, so it’s a good balance. I think that the current balance is positive and we will see them develop together in the following games.”
