Mikel Arteta decision proven right? Arsenal’s William Saliba makes error leading to goal for Marseille
Arsenal star William Saliba made an error leading to a goal whilst playing a Europa League clash with Marseille on Thursday evening.
Arsenal loan Saliba
Arsenal secured Williams Saliba’s services in the summer of 2019.
The Gunners are believed to have forked over around £27m for the centre-back.
Despite the hefty fee, however, Arsenal are yet to hand Saliba a senior appearance.
Instead, the centre-back has now been loaned out to three separate clubs, the latest of which is Marseille.
Saliba makes error for Marseille
Given the large chunk of change Arsenal paid for Saliba’s services and the fact he was signed over two years ago, Arsenal not playing Saliba once in the first-team may have seemed like a bit of an odd decision.
However, recent matches have seen Saliba come in for a fair bit of criticism in France, with L’Equipe offering a pretty scathing review of the defender’s displays following his error vs Galatasaray:
L’Equipe on Saliba ‘After a big start to the season, we were accustomed to excellence.Lately, his concentration swings & bad passes have been costly in the UEL. After fault vs Lazio he conceded he’d “slept very badly”. He must’ve had a little trouble sleeping last night as well.’ pic.twitter.com/qdyzflR7Ll
— Gilles 🇳🇬🏴 (@_Grimanditweets) November 26, 2021
It is pretty easy to see why Saliba may not be in the French press’ good books after his error on Thursday though.
The centre-back would receive a pass in his own half, unchallenged and with acres of space around him. However, Saliba miss controls the ball, takes a huge touch towards an opposition player before then taking another and running straight into a Galatasaray player who dispossesses him and starts the counter which leads to a goal.
So, given that Saliba’s form has not been too great of late, and he is making some big mistakes, perhaps Mikel Arteta’s decision to loan the 20-year-old out once again this season was a smart one.
Saliba, though a promising young talent, is clearly still learning his trade and given the often vicious nature of the British press, perhaps it is best he is allowed to develop away from the crosshairs of a very unforgiven media and fanbase.
CBS have posted the highlights from the game here, but they cut off the start of Saliba’s error.
