WILLIAM SALIBA has revealed he will return to Arsenal to show them his “true face” amid transfer exit rumours.
The news comes as a major boost for the Gunners as Newcastle, Leicester, Atletico Madrid and Marseille, where he spent last season on loan, are reportedly keen to sign him.
Saliba hasn’t played a competitive match for the North Londoners since his £30million move to the Emirates in 2019 as he was sent back first on loan to Saint-Etienne, then to Nice and most recently to Marseille.
The centre-back has repeatedly expressed his desire to stay at L’OM following a successful season that saw him being named Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Year.
But the France international has stated that he “belongs” to Arsenal and is keen to finally play for this “great club” and its fans.
Saliba told Telefoot: “I belong to Arsenal, I still have two years left.
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“I will be back with Arsenal. I have played zero matches and I still want to show them my true face and have the chance to play for these fans and this great club.
“But it doesn’t just depend on me. In any case, to leave like this, would be a shame.”
This comes after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta stated he wants Saliba to return in the summer.
Arteta explained the 21-year-old was shipped out on loan to Marseille because he needed to gain more experience as he wasn’t ready to compete with the likes of Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes last year.
The Spanish tactician recently said: “He has to come back.
“He has the experience and has been in the necessary environment in order to be competitive with us.
“If he had stayed with us this year, where we had one Premier League game every week, with Ben White and Gabriel, he wouldn’t have had half the playing time he had with Marseille, that’s for sure.
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“For his growth and what he can do next season, that wouldn’t have been good.
“William wasn’t with us because he wouldn’t have had the playing time to gain experience. That’s it, there’s nothing else.”
