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Mikel Arteta is said to have doubts about William Saliba’s defense, as the teenager seems poised to leave Arsenal on another loan deal.
Saliba signed for Arsenal in a £ 27 million deal last summer, but was instantly loaned out again to sales club Saint-Etienne to aid its development.
The young Frenchman endured an injury-stricken 2019/20 campaign at his former club, with the Ligue 1 season quickly curtailed and the 19-year-old returning to London Colney to train with the Gunners.
The center-back was ineligible to play for his parent club in the latter part of last season after football returned from lockdown, but having received jersey number 4 for the new campaign, he was expected to participate in plans to Arteta. .
(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
However, the Gunners currently have a wide variety of center-backs at the club who signed Gabriel Magalhaes this summer, as well as adding Pablo Mari to a permanent contract.
David Luiz continues to be an important part of the Arsenal team, with Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding also still on the books despite being linked to estrangements. Calum Chambers is still recovering from injury, while Kieran Tierney has shown he can play to the left of a three-man defense.
All of which means Saliba will be allowed to go on loan, with a move back to Saint-Etienne collapsing before the close of the French transfer deadline much to the frustration of the Ligue 1 club and the player.
(Image: Getty Images)
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However, EFL teams can still sign players, and now Saliba is leaning for a temporary move to the Championship with Brentford leading the queue.
Arteta will expect a move to see the teen correcting flaws in his game, defending set pieces and a tendency to dive into tackles, both seen by the Spaniard as areas of concern, according to ESPN.
The Gunners boss will hope those issues can be resolved during any loan deal, and the club still regards Saliba as an exciting prospect.
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