Arsenal struggling to convince defender stay amid ‘rift’ with Mikel Arteta

Arsenal are struggling to convince William Saliba to commit his future to the club and may have to consider selling the defender next summer, according to reports. The 20-year-old joined Gunners from Saint-Etienne back in 2019, but he is still yet to make his competitive debut and has been sent on three separate loan spells. According to The Sun, Saliba feels underappreciated amid an ongoing ‘rift’ with Mikel Arteta which perhaps stems from Arsenal denying him the chance to play in Saint-Etienne’s Coupe de France Final clash with Paris Saint-Germain last year. The Frenchman could finally get his chance ahead of the current campaign and Arteta hinted as much after the centre-back impressed towards the back-end of last season on loan at Nice. But the youngster’s frustration grew as the north London giants went on to reinforce their defence with the addition of Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the summer transfer window, seemingly blocking his path to regular minutes at the Emirates. Gunners have not made a final decision regarding Saliba’s possible exit, but the centre-half still has plenty to prove and the Gunners will continue to keep close tabs on his progress this season. However,  a summer move is not out of the question, with Marseille likely to be interested in a permanent deal. Source - Metro Join us on Telegram!/ Follow us on Twitter!

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