Arsenal’s William Saliba was called up by Didier Deschamps for games against Ivory Coast and South Africa as a replacement for Benjamin Pavard.
A little about the topic
The Gunners should start negotiations on the French player’s long-term future in the next few weeks. The Arsenal defender is currently impressive on loan with Marseille and has just been rewarded for his performances, earning his first senior call-up to France. But his Arsenal career remains up in the air and discussions will soon be open in an attempt to bring some clarity to the situation ahead of the summer.
Talks have yet to take place between Arsenal and William’s officials for the 20-year-old centre-back, who has yet to make a single competitive appearance for the Gunners following his £27m move from Saint-Étienne in July 2019. The player is now on his third spell on loan away from the north London club and will only have two years left on his deal at the end of the season.
So far, there have been no discussions about a potential new deal, but a meeting is expected to take place in the next few weeks, with William and his representatives keen to find out how the Gunners feel about the young player and what the plan is for his future. The Gunners have always insisted that William remains part of the club’s plans, but Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White have formed a formidable partnership at the heart of defending Arteta’s new look this season.
What did William say?
William has always kept his only focus this season on playing for Marseille. The player was questioned several times about his long-term future throughout the campaign, but has consistently stated that he wants to concentrate on football for the rest of the season. Asked earlier this month about the possibility of signing Marseille on a permanent basis, William Saliba said they would sit down at the end of the season. Arsenal’s deal, negotiated with Marseille for William last summer, was simply a direct loan deal and did not include any option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.