£15m striker wowed by Arsenal loanee after playing against him, can’t believe Arteta’s not starting him

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal looked like they have got themselves a star in the making when they snapped up William Saliba.

The 20-year-old signed for the Gunners from Saint-Etienne in the summer of 2019 for £27million.

Arsenal loaned Saliba back to Saint-Etienne for the remainder of the season, and went on to reach the French Cup final.

He then arrived at the Emirates Stadium in 2020, and it was hoped that he’d stake a claim for a first-team place.

However, Mikel Arteta has had other ideas, and Saliba is yet to play a competitive senior game for Arsenal.

The Frenchman has since embarked on two more loan spells – Nice and Marseille, for whom he currently plays.

Many footballing figures have praised Saliba’s displays and progress over the past few years. Martin Keown, Frank Leboeuf and Samir Nasri to name but three.

Now, former Gunners academy star Stephy Mavididi has also questioned why Arteta isn’t playing Saliba.

Mavididi spent eight years in north London as an Arsenal academy prospect.

The 23-year-old forward then went on to join Juventus, after Giorgio Chiellini’s brother scouted him.

Mavididi has since moved on to Ligue 1 with Montpellier, where he has come up against Saliba.

“One of the best centre-backs I’ve faced”

LiveScore asked the £15million-rated attacker what he thought about the Arsenal loanee.

“That guy’s a player,” replied Mavididi. “He’s hands down one of the best defenders in the league, hands down.

“I think he’ll walk back Into the Arsenal team next season.

“When I played against him last year I thought ‘how is this guy not playing at Arsenal?’

“He’s strong, good on the ball, he reads the game well.

“Sometimes you walk off the pitch and think ‘fair play man, respect’.

“When the defender has kept up with you and out-tussled you, you have to say fair play. This guy’s a good player.

“He’s one of the best centre-backs I’ve faced. Everyone can talk about Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Jerome Boateng, but he’s up there.

“He’s the one that surprised me the most. I’m an Arsenal fan too and playing against Saliba I thought ‘we’ve got a very decent defender here!'”