How William Saliba fared with Marseille ahead of Arsenal return

 

"He has to come back. He has the experience and the environment necessary to be competitive with us." Mikel Arteta was blunt on where William Saliba will be plying his trade next season. Fresh from his Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award, Marseille are understandably keen to keep the 21-year-old at the Velodrome beyond the summer, yet the Arsenal boss is eager to have Saliba to call upon next season. 

 

Arteta isn't short of solid centre-back options at the Emirates. Gabriel and Benjamin White is his currently go-to partnership, while Rob Holding is a good backup. Takehiro Tomiyasu is able to play at the heart of the defence if push came to shove, but with European football back on the cards for the red half of north London, Arteta needs strength in numbers ahead of what could prove a gruelling campaign. 

 

The Gunners boss was quick to add that Saliba's loan stint benefitted the player, stating: "If he had stayed with us this year, with a match of Premier League a week, with Ben White and Gabriel, he wouldn't have had half the playing time he had with Marseille, that's for sure." Indeed, Arsenal played just 45 competitive matches this season, and after the big money arrival of White, the former Brighton man was never going to play second fiddle when fit, so the decision to send Saliba to Marseille suited all parties. 

 

However, it has now become impossible to overlook Saliba, who has now enjoyed three commendable loan stints following his permanent move to Arsenal in 2019. Supporters have been pining to see Saliba handed a more prominent role in the Gunners setup and the return to European football provides Arteta the ideal reason for the youngster to return to the Emirates. 

 

Granted, in qualifying for the Champions League, that may convince Saliba that his future is better served in Marseille rather than Arsenal, who were unable to overhaul rivals Tottenham into fourth on the final day of the season. Yet Arsenal have the final say on Saliba and with Arteta stating that the centre-back has to come back, L'OM's loss is very much Arsenal's gain. 

 

Arsenal ranked fifth for both possession (52.6%) and pass success rate (83.4%) in the Premier League this season, two stats that would certainly rise with Saliba at the back. Saliba made more passes (3043) than any other player in Europe's top five leagues this season and with Arteta looking to his centre-backs to play the ball out from the back - Gabriel (2038) and White (1810) ranked first and second, respectively, for total passes of all Arsenal players - there is a desire for the defenders to set Arsenal on the front foot once they win the ball at the back. 

 

The centre-back pair ranked top for forward passes for the Gunners, so this forward thinking approach is a necessity in Arteta's preferred system, but is again a strength to Saliba's game. He made more forward passes (987) than any other player in Ligue 1 this season and with 32.4% of his passes going forward, this progressive style of passing would only serve to increase Arsenal's chances of dominating opponents. 

 

And it's not just in Ligue 1 that this quality to Saliba's game rose to the fore. Indeed, he made more passes per game (95) than any other player to make five or more appearances in the Europa League this season, while a 92.5% pass success rate was the ninth best using the same parameters. Granted, Marseille endured a disappointing Europa League campaign, finishing third in their group to drop into the Europa Conference League, yet Saliba was able to successfully transition this strength to his game to European action. 

 

 

On the ball, Saliba proved his worth and then some, while off the ball; the centre-back also excelled. He was dribbled past just eight times across 36 Ligue 1 appearances last season and won possession in the defensive third more times (152) than any other player in France's top tier. By comparison, Gabriel and White were dribbled past 11 and 17 times, respectively, in the Premier League. 

 

Even if opponents do get the better of Saliba, though, he has the recovery speed to ensure his side's goal isn't tested, as proven in Marseille's 0-0 draw with PSG back in October, where the defender managed to keep up with Kylian Mbappe before making a superb last ditch tackle to ensure the clean sheet. Only two teams conceded fewer goals than Marseille (38) in Ligue 1 this season, though that shouldn't come as a surprise with Saliba enjoying a superb campaign under Jorge Sampaoli. 

 

As such, Arsenal fans are excited at Saliba's return this summer. He'll face increased competition from a starting spot from Gabriel and White, which perhaps weighs against him considering their improving partnership and experience in the Premier League. Yet after months of hoping he'll be handed the chance to impress in north London, it seems Gunners supporters are about to get their wish.

How William Saliba fared with Marseille ahead of Arsenal return