Arsenal sources insist that William Saliba is a key part of the club’s future, unlike some of the club’s other loanees this summer.

Valentin Rongier Olympique de Marseille - William Saliba Olympique de Marseille - Alvaro Gonzalez Olympique de Marseille FOOTBALL : Olympique de Marseille vs AS Saint Etienne - Ligue 1 Uber Eats - Marseille - 28/08/2021 NorbertScanella/PanoramiC
Valentin Rongier Olympique de Marseille – William Saliba Olympique de Marseille – Alvaro Gonzalez Olympique de Marseille FOOTBALL : Olympique de Marseille vs AS Saint Etienne – Ligue 1 Uber Eats – Marseille – 28/08/2021 NorbertScanella/PanoramiC

Goal report that sources at Arsenal continue to insist that William Saliba is vital part of their future.

Those sources point to the fact that the likes of Matteo Guendouzi and Konstantinos Mavropanos were loaned with obligations to buy in their contracts, whilst Arsenal refused any similar arrangement with Saliba.

Arsenal are reportedly still planning to bring Saliba back into the fold next summer and reassess the situation at that stage.

It’s not just Guendouzi and Mavropanos. Lucas Torreira has an option to buy in his Fiorentina contract, Dejan Iliev will be a free agent at the end of his deal.

Saliba is one of few senior Arsenal players to go on loan without an obvious plan in place to sell him next summer.

That’s a good thing too, since Saliba is performing so well with Marseille this season. Most recently, he put in an impressive display to help them keep a clean sheet against Paris Saint-Germain and the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Lionel Messi.

When Saliba returns to Arsenal with a couple of years on his contract, the club will likely try to convince him to extend it. But even if they decide to sell (incorrectly, in my opinion), they should still get more money than they would have last summer.

Fabrizio Romano also recently suggested that the move to Marseille will only last until the end of the campaign. He reported that Arsenal trust the centre-back “100%” for the future and “he’ll be back” in the summer.

Along with Bukayo Saka, William Saliba made the Golden Boy 20-man shortlist this year.