Report: Arsenal talent William Saliba set to move to Ligue 1 club on loan

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William Saliba is set to join Nice on loan from Arsenal, according to French outlet Nice-Martin.

The central defender checked in from Saint-Etienne during the summer, having spent last season on loan in Ligue 1.

Arsenal completed a £27 million deal for Saliba in 2019 and he was expected to make an impact during 2020/21.

Mikel Arteta hasn’t fancied the 19-year-old with the defender yet to make his first-team debut for the Gunners.

Now, Saliba will head back to France where Nice will take on all of his £40,000-a-week wages.

The Ligue 1 outfit are sat 12th in the table at present and they’ll hope Saliba’s expertise can lift them up the table.

Saliba has found himself out of the picture at Arsenal.

Gabriel was added in the summer and David Luiz, Rob Holding and Pablo Mari are all ahead of Saliba in the pecking order.

Shkodran Mustafi is also still at the Emirates Stadium and a loan move does look ideal.

The report claims that Nice do not hold an option to sign Saliba when his loan deal comes to an end in the summer.

An uncompromising centre-back, he made 36 appearances for Saint-Etienne during 2019/20, helping them to the Coupe De France Final.

TBR View – Saliba loan deal is best for all parties

Arsenal supporters will be delighted by the fact that Saliba will play some football during the second half of the season.

With the Gunners winning their last three games, his chances of breaking into the first-team look unlikely.

As a result, a loan move looks like being the best possible move for Saliba.

It’s perhaps a surprise he hasn’t been called upon by the Gunners yet but Arteta clearly feels he is still too raw.

A good second half of the season in France, however, could propel him into the manager’s thinking ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.