French football body to probe leaked video of Arsenal’s Saliba
French Football Federation is set to probe a leaked video of Arsenal defender, William Saliba.
Saliba joined the Gunners from St. Etienne in the summer of 2019, but is still yet to make his debut for the club after spending the 2019/20 season out on loan and failing to make his way into Mikel Arteta’s first team upon his arrival in North London last summer.
As a result the French under-20 international has been sent out on loan to Nice for the remainder of the season where he was recently named player of the month after an impressive return to Ligue 1.
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However, the news that the French footballing authorities are going to be investigating a leaked video of the 19-year-old is threatening to derail his progress once more.
Reports from RMC News indicate that the FFF are going to be looking into the explicit footage that features Saliba in his French football kit while away on international duty.
As a result they are understood to be investigating the leaked video on the grounds that it could be potentially viewed “as harmful to the image of the federation & football as a whole”.
It is unclear which other players are featured in the video, that was reportedly filmed around three years ago.
The 19-year-old has 22 caps for France at youth level and most recently played for the French under-20 team in March 2019.
It was his form in international youth football as well as his impressive performances at senior level for St. Etienne that convinced Arsenal to pay in the region of £27million to sign Saliba in the summer of 2019.
However, after spending a season back on loan with Les Verts, he struggled to make his way into Mikel Arteta’s first time upon his arrival in north London at the end of last season.
Arteta has since blamed Saliba’s lack of a transition season and the personal problems he has suffered since he moved countries as the main reason’s behind this.
“I know that sometimes it is difficult to explain or understand after the money the club spent bringing him in, sending him on loan,” the Spaniard said last month.
“But a lot of things have happened to him, he is a long-term player for us and we need to protect him as well.
“Giving him three or four games is not enough for him, he needs much more than that but what has happened over the past 18 months, he has gone through some personal problems as well that we have to try to help him, and stay as close as possible to him, and now he needs to play, play and play and enjoy his profession as well.”