William Saliba accuses Arteta of frustrating him
William Saliba has had a fresh pop at Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta over his lack of game time at the Emirates.
The 19-year-old centre-back joined Nice on loan for the rest of the season earlier this month, after failing to make a single senior appearance for the Gunners.
Saliba has been ever-present for the Ligue 1 side since his switch, and was named the club’s player of the month for January.
And after last week speaking of his surprise over his lack of action at Arsenal, the defender has now claimed that Arteta didn’t give him enough of a chance to impress.
“He judged me on 2.5 matches,” Saliba told RMC , cited by Get French Football News.
“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.”
Arsenal signed Saliba for £27million from Saint-Etienne in 2019, before loaning him back to the French club for the following campaign.
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But the Ligue 1 season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, meaning the France under-20 international didn’t gain as much first-team experience as the Gunners hoped.
After returning to the Emirates last summer, Saliba was left out of Arteta’s squads for the Premier League and Europa League.