Arsenal is believed to have agreed with center-back William Saliba to listen to both loan offers and standing offers from the Frenchman in January.
With the January transfer window now open, Saliba is expected to leave Arsenal to some extent. The 19-year-old has failed to make a single matchday in the Premier League this year and has also been excluded from the club’s 25-man squad in the Europa League.
A loan deal is expected to generate a lot of interest for the 19-year-old, who cost Arsenal £ 27million in 2019, but L’Equipe (via GFFN) claim that a meeting with Mikel Arteta also left both sides open to the idea of a permanent exit.
Rumors of a return to Ligue 1 at Saint-Étienne have long been in the headlines, while ties to other Premier League clubs have been plentiful as well, and it now looks like Arsenal are ready to consider any. the offers that arise.
This is the latest twist in what has been an utterly bizarre saga.
Saliba was touted as the long-term solution to Arsenal’s problems at center-back when he joined the club during the summer, but things didn’t work out that way.
Instead, Saliba was completely exiled from the starting line-up, but Arteta insisted that the team’s door remain open for the Frenchman.
“To be honest he’s made huge improvements over the past few months and it’s been a really tough situation for him,” Arteta said (via Goal) in December. “As I mentioned before, I designed a path for him and there was a lot of it. things that have happened to him in his personal and professional life too.
“Now that we’ve taken a few steps forward he’s working really hard and has played for the Under-21s again.”
Unfortunately for Saliba, Arsenal’s recent victory will almost certainly leave Arteta reluctant to change his defense for now. Rob Holding and Pablo Mari helped the Gunners to victories over Chelsea and Brighton, and the duo thus secured long races in the starting lineup.
Brazilian David Luiz is also expected to return from illness ahead of Saturday’s meeting with West Brom, which will only push Saliba further down the pecking order.
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