Before he has even suited up in a match for Arsenal, the 19-year old French defender has announced his intention of parting ways with the North London club as early as the end of this month. Saliba signed a 27 million pound contract with Arsenal back in the summer of 2019 but was loaned out to Saint-Étienne of Ligue 1 in France with an agreement to return to Arsenal for the 2020-2021 season.
Saliba was nearly loaned back to Saint-Étienne for the 2020-2021 season, but Arsenal nipped that plan in the bud when it was reported that Saliba would rather play in the United Kingdom. Arsenal fans and manager Mikel Arteta believed that Saliba would be an integral part of the Arsenal defensive core this season, but the recent discussions have shown that Arteta is not completely sure that Saliba would even make the team.
It was reported that Saliba and Arsenal met to discuss the young star’s future and have come to a mutual agreement that he can leave on loan or perhaps even permanently at the end of January. Surely, Saint-Étienne will be interested in inking Saliba if he does become available, but there should be no shortage of teams around Europe that desire the young star. Saliba’s contract is one of the largest in club history and at this point can only be seen as a disappointment considering Saliba only played in games for the Premier League 2 and for the EFL Trophy.
