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Arsenal defender William Saliba has decided to stay with the Gunners and fight for a place in Mikel Arteta's side. For the second season in a row, the French defender has been on-loan at the Ligue 1 side to gain first-team experience. He has performed admirably in that period.
The Gunners' signed Ben White from Brighton & Hove Albion for £50 million last summer. This further jeopardized Saliba’s chances of a starting berth at the Emirates.
Alongside White's signing was the acquisition of Brazillian centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes in the summer of 2020 from Lille.
The two have forged a strong partnership at the heart of Arsenal's defense. However, Saliba is reportedly looking to challenge the duo for a place in Arteta's side.
According to TEAMtalk, the 21-year-old is determined to return to the Emirates this summer and fight for a starting berth.
The Frenchman joined Arsenal from Saint-Etienne for £27 million at the beginning of the 2019-20 season, aged just 18.
At that point, he would stay in the Ligue 1 outfit to obtain more experience after being sent back on loan.
There was a feeling he would then be brought into Arteta's squad for the 2020/2021 campaign. That did not happen with the defender then being sent to OGC Nice on-loan to again gain more minutes.
During that season, the Gunners were disappointed in their defense, conceding 39 goals and finishing eighth in the Premier League.
Fans began calling on the French youngster to be bedded into Arteta's squad.
Again, he would not be given that chance and was sent to Marseille on-loan last summer.
Mikel Arteta has had a plan for William Saliba at Arsenal
This season has been a success for the French defender as he has impressed during his time at the Stade Velodrome.
Arteta has commented on the club's decision to send Saliba out on-loan for a third spell in Ligue 1 telling reporters (via Express):
“Well, first of all, we made together the decision for him to go on loan and now he is getting those chances in a really competitive league and he is doing really well.
Arteta continued,
“The pathway we set, even if people again, like many other cases we have here, cannot understand, we believe that it was the right thing for him to do it to develop into the player that we want in the moment we want and need that player.”
The 21-year-old has made 33 Ligue 1 appearances for Jorge Sampaoli's side this season.
He looks set to return to the Emirates and challenge White and Gabriel for a starting berth in Mikel Arteta's side.
