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A former Gunners defender says there is still a seat open for his compatriot at Geoffroy Stadium if he decides to leave North London
William Saliba was encouraged to return to France by Mathieu Debuchy, who says the Arsenal outcast would be welcome back to Saint Etienne this winter.
Saliba signed for Arsenal from Saint Etienne in a £ 27m ($ 36m) deal in July 2019, and subsequently returned to Geoffroy Stadium on loan for the final season.
The 19-year-old finally joined his new teammates at Emirates Stadium this summer, but has since failed to make his way into Mikel Arteta’s senior squad.
The Frenchman is still awaiting his full debut for the Gunners, with his meager five outings for the club to date coming with the Under 23s.
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Saint Etienne tried to re-sign the Frenchman on loan before the last deadline for the transfer, but a final deal never went through, and he was therefore forced to continue to accept a role on the sidelines behind the likes of David Luiz, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes and Shkodran Mustafi.
The Ligue 1 squad, however, is poised to rekindle their interest in a former talisman when the January window opens, with club captain Debuchy taking part in a spell at the Emirates itself between 2014 and 2018. , admitting that the team has been weaker since his departure.
“I am sure that at present we need two or three players to complete this squad,” said the former Arsenal full-back. Telefoot. “That he is in defense and perhaps also in attack. I am confident that the coach will provide these solutions.
“William … we know his qualities. He was very impressive in Saint Etienne.
“Unfortunately for him at Arsenal the departure did not go as he wanted, I think. William is there, Wesley is there [Fofana], these are two defenders who left us and who did incredibly well, so it was a defeat.
“If William wants to return this winter he will be welcome and will have the advantage of knowing the team.”
Saliba will likely be absent once again when Arsenal host Wolves this weekend, where Arteta’s men will be eager to build on an impressive 3-0 win at Molde in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Gunners slipped to 12th in the Premier League standings after nine games, and last time they were forced 0-0 by newly promoted Leeds United at Elland Road.
Saint Etienne, meanwhile, will welcome Lille on Sunday at Geoffroy Stadium as they try to put some distance between them and the bottom three in Ligue 1 after a poor start to the season.
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