Arsenal defender William Saliba has admitted going on loan to Marseille last season has made him a better player and taught him never to give up on himself.
The French centre-back joined Arsenal in a €30m deal from Saint Etienne in 2019 but was loaned back to the Ligue 1 club for that campaign.
He was then sent to Nice the following year and spent last season on loan with Marseille following a hectic summer in which it had first appeared he would be a part of Mikel Arteta’s squad.
That was not the case, though, and he instead spent the year at Marseille establishing himself as a key player there.
He returned to Arsenal in the summer and has been a regular for them since, becoming the first-choice centre back alongside Gabriel Magalhães and starting all of their seven games so far.
He’s been earning rave reviews for his displays thus far and believes the time spent on loan has helped him to develop.
“I came back here to win so it’s nice to start the season well,” he told Canal +, relayed by Coeur Marseillais.
“We had a very good start to the season until the Manchester game, but we’re still top.
“From a personal point of view, it was better for me to go on loan to play, make mistakes, learn. I came back stronger and with new ambitions.
“These experiences have shown me that football is complicated, but that you should never give up and believe in yourself.”
