Henry criticises Arsenal for their treatment of ‘extraordinary’ player – ‘he didn’t have a chance’

Lewis Oldham
Henry speaks on Salba

Gunners legend Thierry Henry has criticised Arsenal for their treatment of their “extraordinary” defender William Saliba.

Arsenal paid £27m to sign the centre-back from Saint-Etienne in 2019. He is yet to make his debut for the Gunners.

After spells at Saint-Etienne and Nice, the 21-year-old joined Marseille on loan before this season.


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Saliba has been one of the standout players in Ligue 1 this term as he has played 49 times for Marseille across all competitions.

His form for Marseille led to him making his senior debut for France earlier this year.

The defender stated last month that there is ‘a chance’ that he will spend another season at Marseille.

Henry feels for Saliba as he was forced out on loan before making an error for Arsenal:

“They didn’t even let him make a mistake,” Henry told Amazon Prime.

“He left before an error. He didn’t even have the chance to compete for his place.

“What he is doing here is extraordinary. He was rewarded with a selection for the France team.

“At the moment, he belongs to Arsenal, I don’t know where he will end up. We have seen that it was a little difficult for him to express himself on the subject.

“What I know is that he could have been in the Arsenal group. I am not Mikel Arteta, but I found it difficult for him. Anyway, he responded well and that’s the most important thing.”

Elsewhere, Darren Bent has said that he would like to see Mikel Arteta stay in charge of Arsenal next season regardless of how they do during the rest of the season.

“There are still a lot of Arsenal fans who are unsure about Mikel Arteta being in charge of Arsenal Football Club.

“They still think, come the end of the season, regardless of whether Arsenal are in the Champions League or not, he should not be the manager to take them forward.

“I completely disagree. I think he is the right manager to take them forward. He’s earned the right to move into next season, certainly if Arsenal are in the Champions League.”