‘That hurt’: ‘Extraordinary’ player says Arteta treated him differently compared to everyone else at Arsenal

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Arsenal defender William Saliba has opened up on Mikel Arteta’s treatment of him during the first half of last season.

The young French defender is enjoying the best period of his career at the moment. He is playing week in, week out for Marseille out on loan, he’s now a full France international and his stock has gone up considerably since this time last year.

Saliba, when he returned to Arsenal from Saint-Etienne before the start of last season, was viewed by many as the Gunners’ future. However, Arteta just wasn’t convinced that he was ready.

As a result, the youngster was pushed to the reserves and wasn’t given a single opportunity with the senior side. He has now claimed that he was really hurt by that decision.

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William Saliba: Mikel Arteta gave chances to everyone at Arsenal but me

Speaking to L’Equipe this week, Saliba said: “They are often in contact with my agent. They send me messages. They watch my matches. They tell me that we have to continue like this. I haven’t played much with the Gunners. The coach has made his choices, that’s life.

“I left on loan, I put the matches together, and I became an international. What happened to me forged a tougher mind, it is not because you have cost €30m that you are playing. I take it positively, even if there are times that you wonder.

“For six months, I saw I was the only in the group not to play, that hurt.”

Speaking about next season, Saliba said: “Of course, I can’t be happy on Arsenal’s bench. I want to play as a starter. Afterwards, if I enter the rotation as a substitute, it’s not like being in the U23s and never being in the squad.”

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Arteta made it clear at the start of last season that Saliba wasn’t ready for the Premier League, and the Arsenal boss may just have been right.

However, you’ve got to feel for the youngster, who wasn’t given a single opportunity in a competitive game to show the world what he’s all about.

Saliba, branded as ‘extraordinary’ by French journalist Thibaud Leplat, had a successful six-month spell at Nice in the second half of last season and he has been brilliant for Marseille this campaign. He’s proving to be the real deal and it will be interesting to see what will happen in the summer.

If Arteta again decides that he doesn’t want to use the young Frenchman, it’s likely that Saliba will walk away.

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