Manager shares news on Arsenal player that some Gunners fans were eagerly hoping for a month ago

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Arsenal defender William Saliba will not feature in the French Cup final, Claude Puel has confirmed, meaning the talented youngster looks set to return to the Emirates Stadium soon.

The Gunners clinched the signing of the highly-rated 19-year-old last summer in a £27million deal from Saint-Etienne (BBC Sport), but loaned him back to the Ligue 1 club for the entirety of the 2019-20 season as part of the deal.

Saliba missed a large part of the campaign through injury but impressed on his return at the end of January and duly made his way back into the starting XI prior to the football suspension and eventual premature end to the Ligue 1 season.

While the 2019-20 French league campaign was eventually called at the point of suspension, the French Cup final is to go ahead at the Stade de France on 24 July, with Saint-Etienne up against Paris Saint-Germain, and his loan club was hoping he’d feature.

After a dispute between the two sides at the start of July which led to criticism of one another, Saint-Etienne boss Puel has now confirmed that the youngster will definitely not be involved in the showpiece event.

“Yes, William Saliba will definitely be absent for the final,” he confirmed at a press conference on Thursday.

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While it is a shame that Saliba won’t be able to come to the Emirates Stadium with a major trophy on his CV, at the end of the day he’s an Arsenal player and, were he to get injured in the build-up to, or during the game, it would be an unnecessary blow, so it’s to play it safe.

A month ago, when it appeared as though there was still the opportunity for Saliba to feature, many Arsenal fans were completely against it, so Puel’s news will come as music to their ears.

Defence has been a weak point for Arsenal this season so a reinforcement of Saliba’s calibre is welcomed, and there is plenty of enthusiasm amongst the fanbase about a youngster who has been lauded by numerous peers.