Unused by Mikel Arteta this season despite some shaky defensive performances from his regular starters, William Saliba desperately needed a way out.
Not a permanent one, mind, but more a club that would willingly play him regularly in order to get minutes under his belt.
Arsenal wasn’t going to provide him with those, and while AS Saint-Etienne, his former club, wanted him, it’s OGC Nice who have won the race to his services.
It was announced on Tuesday morning that the young centre-back would be joining Patrick Vieira’s former side for the next six months, but there’s also the possibility he could stay there for longer.
Nice don’t have an option to buy him, but AFP, confirmed by RMC Sport, are reporting that ‘if all goes well’, the loan could be ‘extended by an extra year’.
That could frustrate a number of Arsenal fans, who already wanted to see what Saliba had to offer this season, but if Arteta doesn’t deem him ready to feature regularly at the Emirates, there’s not a lot that can be done about it.
