WILLIAM SALIBA will reportedly be considered for the Arsenal first-team next season after impressing during his loan spell at Nice.
The Gunners shipped out the 20-year-old centre-back to the French side in January after failing to convince Mikel Arteta he was ready for action.
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Saliba is still waiting to make his Arsenal debut after joining from Saint-Etienne in 2019, but it appears he still has a career at the Emirates after two loan spells.
According to Football.London, the defender has been handed a boost regarding his future in North London.
They state Arteta will take a closer look at the defender when the first-team squad report for pre-season training.
And it has been suggested that David Luiz is poised to depart on a free at the end of the campaign with Saliba set to return to London Colney.
Saliba has earned rave reviews at Nice, where he won the club’s January Player of the Month award.
In total, the France youth international has appeared in 14 Ligue 1 matches, and he most recently starred during the 0-0 draw against Reims on Sunday where he was named man of the match.
Speaking earlier this term, Saliba took a swipe at Arteta where he claimed he feels better now that he’s part of a team.
He remarked: “[Arteta] judged me on two-and-a-half matches. I would have liked for him to play me more. But he told me I wasn’t ready.
“I was waiting for him to give me a chance, but football is like that.
“When I initially came to Arsenal the league looked very good so I showed up to training and wanted to train on my own to show the coach I was ready.
“I am happy now, I want to play for Nice. The idea when you’re part of a team is a better feeling for me.”
It’s not just Saliba that has dazzled during his loan spell away from Arsenal, with centre-back Dinos Mavropanos shining at Stuttgart.
The Greece international, 23, recently revealed that he could remain with the German side for another year in an interview with Bild.
He said: “I can’t say that at the moment (whether I will return). Things can change quickly in football.
“I still have two months here in Stuttgart and would like to end the season with the team as high up as possible.
“The door at VfB is open for me – that’s very good. But I can only really think about the future once we have talks for the new season.”
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