ARSENAL DEFENDER JOINS NICE ON LOAN

France centre back William Saliba has left Arsenal to sign for OGC Nice on loan for the rest of the season. William Saliba had to return to his native France after failing to convince Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta that he’s ready to play first team football for the Gunners. The 19-year-old didn’t make a single appearance for Arsenal in the first half of the season though he was not registered for Europa League football. The young France central defender was registered for the Premier League, but he didn’t make the list for the Europa League.


William Saliba was hailed as one of the best young centre backs in France when Arsenal paid £27m to sign him from Saint Etienne in the French Ligue 1 almost two years ago before spending the following season on loan at the same club. When Arsenal signed the France junior international in the summer of 2019, sending him back to Saint Etienne for the 2019/20 campaign was one of the conditions that the Gunners had to fulfil to sign the player.

Arsenal fans had high hopes for William Saliba when he returned to the club from his loan spell as pointed out above but their hopes were soon flattened when the young French defender failedto make a single appearance for the Gunners despite the fact that the club spent £27mto sign him from Saint Etienne. His desire for first team football prompted him to leave Arsenal for OGC Nice on a temporary deal for the remainder of the current season.

William Saliba is the second first team player to leave Arsenal this month after Bosnia & Herzegovina left-back Sead Kolasinac returned to former club Schalke 04 at the start of this month. He has left Arsenal for the German club on loan till the end of the season almost four years after his free transfer move to the Gunners from the same club.