SHARE

While Mikel Arteta appears to want William Saliba back at Arsenal next season, the player wants to make sure that, if he does so, he will play.

The now France international has enjoyed a great season with Marseille, where he is on loan until the end of the campaign, but is set to return to the Gunners come June.

There is no option to make the deal permanent, which complicates any idea of an extended stay for the 21-year-old, but there are some who believe it could be possible.

Not permanently, mind, as Nice-Matin over the weekend explain that his ‘current value and status as an international seem to make a transfer inaccessible’.

The idea of a ‘second loan seems feasible’, with Marseille ‘hoping’ they can get something sorted with Arsenal in the near future.

His impact has been such with the Ligue 1 side that the club’s legend Basile Boli, interviewed by TF1 over the weekend, was asked if the club ‘must do everything to keep Saliba’.

His answer? A simple ‘yes’, but it’s clear that the defender has made a big impact at Marseille, and if they can get him for an extra year from Arsenal, that would be a huge win for the club.