William Saliba’s Arsenal career is yet to get started.
A £27million signing from Saint-Etienne in the summer of 2019, he was loaned back to the Ligue 1 side for that season and was on the sidelines under Mikel Arteta upon his return.
That was until Saliba sealed a move to Nice in the January transfer window as he was handed a chance to prove himself to the Arsenal by getting regular first-team football during the second half of the season.
And it’s safe to say the loan deal was a success as the defender went on to make 22 appearances across all competitions and signed off with a goal in a 3-2 win over Lyon on the final day of the campaign.
For many Arsenal fans, the general consensus is that Saliba is ready to finally make his debut for the club.
Whether Arteta agrees remains to be seen as the Gunners boss has already explained that he will make a decision regarding the 20-year-old during pre-season training.
But the Spaniard has been given another sign that he ought to have some faith in Saliba.
As spotted by fans on Reddit, the official Ligue 1 Instagram account has announced a 14-man shortlist of central defenders to make the team of the season and Saliba is included.
That is despite only playing the second half of the season with Nice as he is nominated alongside the likes of Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos and former West Ham defender Jose Fonte.
Of course, this has garnered a strong reaction from Arsenal fans.
SouthWalesGoonerHolding said: “So why doesn’t the manager rate him? The fact we’re currently looking at right footed/right sided CB’s is concerning.”
Jucky429 said: “Lol he is already a certified starter for a top-10 side for France, if he is gonna be put on bench, it would better to just sell him. I bet teams would pay at least 30 mil for him.
“There is no point in running down his contract if he is just going to be a bench players over the likes of Holding and Mari.”
k1ldnSmithRowe said: “Has to start at least all our cup games next season.”
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Interestingly, this nomination comes at a time where the Gunners have been tipped to bring in another centre-back as a replacement for David Luiz.
According to Bild, the Gunners are interested in signing Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba, but have been told it will cost £60million (€70m) for his services following a fine season in the Bundesliga.
But in Saliba, Arsenal may already have the perfect Luiz replacement and one that will save them millions this summer.