‘We need to talk’: Arsenal planning discussions with £27m man over his Gunners future

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Arsenal sporting director Edu has confirmed that he and Mikel Arteta “need to talk” with Gunners defender William Saliba over his future.

The Emirates Stadium side beat Tottenham to the signing of the 19-year-old centre-back last summer in a £27million deal from Saint-Etienne (BBC Sport).

Arsenal loaned Saliba back to the Ligue 1 club for the entirety of the 2019-20 season as part of the deal, where he made 17 appearances and reached the French Cup final.

This season, however, the centre-back is yet to make a senior appearance for the Gunners, having to make do with games for the Under-23s.

Sky Sports reported earlier this month that Saliba could be loaned out in the January window, and Edu acknowledges that a discussion over his future needs to take place.

“Maybe he needs a little more time,” Edu told a fans forum, as quoted by Sky Sports. “He’s a bright talent. We need to talk with him and Mikel to plan for next year.”

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Arsenal are in dire straits right now, languishing in the lower reaches of the Premier League table, and Saliba’s continued absence from the first team is just one of several things which Arsenal fans are concerned about at present.

Despite his 19 years of age, Saliba has shown he has what it takes at the top level in a difficult league, with plenty of plaudits having come his way, but despite this, he’s still having to make do with appearances for the Under-23s.

If he’s not going to get any senior game time this season then perhaps a loan might be the best thing, but it really should be in the Premier League, so when he comes back, he’s already familiar with the English top flight where he’ll be plying his trade for his parent club.