{"id":295661,"date":"2023-11-19T19:55:45","date_gmt":"2023-11-19T19:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=295661"},"modified":"2023-11-19T19:55:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-19T19:55:45","slug":"arsenal-boss-mikel-arteta-vindicated-for-divisive-william-saliba-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/arsenal-boss-mikel-arteta-vindicated-for-divisive-william-saliba-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta vindicated for divisive William Saliba decision"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/5071597.jpg?r=1700229702457\"><\/p>\n<h3>Arsenal need to improve their team in January | Football Digest<\/h3>\n<p>Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta appears to have been vindicated in his decision to sanction loan moves to Ligue 1 for star centre-back William Saliba. The defender joined the Gunners in 2019 but only made his first team debut in the summer of 2022 after being shipped off to Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal shelled out \u00a327million when Unai Emery was in charge to prise Saliba away from Saint-Etienne when he was still only 18 years old. The north London giants immediately sent the player back to his former employers, before current boss Arteta opted to green light another two temporary transfers away from the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>Saliba\u2019s third loan spell with Marseille during the 2021\/22 campaign proved to be particularly divisive. The 22-year-old enjoyed an incredible season in Ligue 1 and was extolled time and time again for his impact on the French side. But Arsenal were struggling in the Premier League at the time and didn\u2019t even secure a top-four finish that season as they missed out on a place in the Champions League.<\/p>\n<p>Arteta clearly thought Saliba needed another year to cultivate his game. And, despite the short term misery of Arsenal going without the ace, the decision doesn\u2019t look quite so bad anymore.<\/p>\n<p> <strong> Read more&#8230; <\/strong> <strong>Luis Diaz&#8217;s dad almost collapses as Liverpool star scores winner against Brazil<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Saliba has become an influential player for the Gunners since being handed his full debut last August. He was a key reason for Arsenal\u2019s early-season dominance last time around as his side led the Premier League table for the majority of the campaign. And his team derailed after he suffered a back injury and was forced to miss the final 11 encounters.<\/p>\n<p>This season, the player is yet to miss a minute of Premier League or Champions League action, with Arsenal just one point behind league leaders Manchester City. So his journey to the top can hardly be criticised.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/path> <\/path> <\/g> <defs> <clippath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"><\/rect> <\/clippath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Support fearless journalism<\/li>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/path> <\/path> <\/g> <defs> <clippath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"><\/rect> <\/clippath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Read The Daily Express online, advert free<\/li>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/path> <\/path> <\/g> <defs> <clippath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"><\/rect> <\/clippath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Get super-fast page loading<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/logo\/logo-premium-subscription.png\"><\/p>\n<p> <strong> Don&#8217;t miss&#8230; <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>Casemiro &#8216;makes final decision&#8217; on ditching Man Utd in January transfer window[INSIGHT] <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>Man Utd star McTomiay brutally fumes at &#8216;crying babies&#8217; and calls out &#8216;disgrace'[QUOTES] <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>Chelsea reassured of pulling power as Liverpool target Dorgu eyes move[DETAILS] <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/5071610.jpg?r=1700229702590\"><\/p>\n<p>But eyebrows were raised after an ESPN pundit overlooked Saliba when picking his team of the season so far as the player missed out to Tottenham star Micky van de Ven and Liverpool ace Virgil van Dijk.<\/p>\n<p>And Liverpool hero Steve Nicol called the pundit out as he maintained the Arsenal man had not made a single mistake over the last seasons. \u201cHe\u2019s not put in Saliba,\u201d Nicol exclaimed. \u201cHe\u2019s not put a foot wrong for three years. I know he was injured at the end of last year, but before that he was the best centre-back in the Premier League.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nicol then explained that Saliba and Van de Ven were the two players currently battling for the honour of being called the best centre-back of the season so far. \u201cI would argue that it\u2019s between him and Van de Ven who\u2019s the best this year as well,\u201d the 61-year-old added. \u201cVan Dijk has had a decent start, but there\u2019s no way you put him ahead of Saliba, not a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/1836150\/Arsenal-William-Saliba-Mikel-Arteta-Tottenham\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Arsenal need to improve their team in January | Football Digest Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta appears to have been vindicated in his decision to sanction <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/arsenal-boss-mikel-arteta-vindicated-for-divisive-william-saliba-decision\/\" title=\"Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta vindicated for divisive William Saliba decision\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295660,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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