Saliba slams Arteta over snap judgment on him at Arsenal

The French defender has yet again aimed his frustration over lack of opportunities in the first half of the season at the Emirates.

William Saliba has hit out at Mikel Arteta for denying him opportunities and making a judgment on him off of “two-and-a-half matches” at Arsenal.

Expectations were high of Saliba when he arrived in north London ahead of the 2020-21 season.

The highly-rated center-back was signed by the Gunners from Saint-Etienne for about €30 million in the summer of 2019 but was immediately sent back on loan to the Ligue 1 club.

However, the 19-year-old was deemed not ready for first-team action by Arteta. He was denied of his first-team debut and shipped out on loan to Nice in January.

Saliba stated last month that he was ‘hurt’ by the lack of opportunities at Arsenal, and he has once again expressed discontentment at the Spanish manager’s management

“He judged me on two-and-a-half matches,” Saliba told in an interview on RMC’s ‘Top of the Foot’ show. “I would have liked for him to play me more. But he told me I wasn’t ready.

“I was waiting for him to give me a chance, but football is like that. When I initially came to Arsenal the league looked very good so I showed up to training and wanted to train on my own to show the coach I was ready.”