William Saliba expects and wants to return to Arsenal and prove himself next summer, and he’s working on his English in preparation.
The Telegraph report that William Saliba is planning to return to Arsenal and prove himself next summer. That’s his ‘expectation’ and ‘desire’ as things stand, and he’s taking steps to try and make it happen.
Most notably, the centre-back is about to begin a new course of English lessons to develop his speaking. He also remains in contact with his Arsenal teammates.
The major caveat is that Saliba also planned to break into the team at Arsenal last summer, and that clearly didn’t happen. It’s difficult to say whether or not things will be different this time around.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Mikel Arteta confirmed that the club have been keeping in touch with Saliba, and they even sent technical director Edu and loan manager Ben Knapper out to watch the PSG game in Marseille live.
“Yes, we have been as a club always in touch,” Arteta said. “They went to see the game as well, Edu and Ben were there to watch him and to keep a close eye on him and the progress that he’s making.
“Obviously he’s our player, and we all do with all the loan players that we have.
“He continues to do what he needs to do which is to play a lot of games and play them well.”
Goal recently reported that sources at Arsenal continue to insist that 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. Saliba will return to Arsenal with a couple of years on his contract.
Fabrizio Romano also recently claimed 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.