Still without a professional appearance with Arsenal, William Saliba could potentially feature for France’s first-team before representing the club that owns him.
That’s because, thanks to a very successful loan at Marseille this season, he was called up to his national team’s squad by Didier Deschamps to replace a Covid-struck Benjamin Pavard.
Whether he actually makes an appearance remains to be seen, but with two friendlies against Ivory Coast and South Africa, he certainly has a chance, which would make it even harder for Mikel Arteta to ignore him going forward.
The Arsenal manager felt the 20-year-old still needed extra experience before playing for the Gunners last summer, hence the loan to Marseille, but with no option to buy, there’s a strong chance the Frenchman returns in the coming months, at which point the Spaniard will need to make a decision.
Deschamps was asked to justify his choice by La Provence, who sat down with the France national team manager for an exclusive interview on Thursday, as the upcoming friendly against Ivory Coast will take place at Stade Vélodrome, where Saliba plays on a near weekly basis with Marseille.
He said: “If I chose him…There’s a lot of competition in defence, but he’s the captain of the U21s. His performances with Marseille make it that he’s here today and potentially could have more tomorrows with the France national team.”
We’ll have to wait and see how much the Arsenal starlet impresses over the coming week, but this is a chance he will want to grasp with both hands and not let go, much like he did with his loan at OM.
