Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta set to 'soon decide' William Saliba future

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been discussing William Saliba’s future and confirmed he will decide what to do with the defender in the coming weeks. Saliba joined the Gunners this summer after spending a year on loan at St Etienne.

Saliba has struggled to settle in north London following his move from France.

The centre-back was initially bought by the club in 2019 but was immediately loaned back to St Etienne on a one-year loan.

That season was cut short through the coronavirus pandemic, however, and as a result he was sidelined for the best part of seven months.

When the season resumed, it was claimed Saliba was struggling with fitness and found himself down the pecking order after the arrival of Gabriel Magalhaes.

He’s struggled to get past him in the pecking order, and hasn’t made a single matchday squad in the Premier League yet.

Saliba’s season took another turn for the worse when he received a red card against Gillingham after a poor tackle.

And now, it seems the Gunners could be ready to part ways with him, with little chance of him breaking into the first team any time soon.

Arteta left him out of his 25-man squad for the Europa League, but was included in the Premier League squad due to the under-21 rule.

“Now we’ve made some steps forwards, he’s working really hard and played for the under-21s again.

“That was a good game because [Gabriel] Martinelli finally came back for 45 minutes, so I think it was a really positive day for us in terms of that.”