Marseille confirm loan for Arsenal defender William Saliba

Marseille have confirmed the loan signing of Arsenal defender William Saliba for the upcoming 2021/22 season.

Saliba is yet to make an official appearance for the Gunners having joined them in 2019 - he stayed at Saint-Etienne for that season - and spent the second half of last campaign at Nice, impressing while making 22 appearances in all competitions.

Talk of a loan move to Marseille has done the rounds frequently over the past month or so and both clubs have now confirmed the deal, with Arsenal's technical director Edu stating: “Together with William, we have decided it will be good for his continued development to spend another season on loan. William joined us as an 18-year-old, and he is still only 20, so he is still developing all the time. 

"William is a player with strong natural ability and next season has the potential to be really beneficial for him at Marseille, a good club. To play another season in Ligue 1 will be very important for his development. We will of course be keeping in close contact with William during the season and wish him all the best in France with Marseille."

Saliba will join former Gunner Matteo Guendouzi in southern France. The midfielder fell out of favour under Mikel Arteta towards the end of the 2019/20 season and spent time at Hertha Berlin last term. His move to Marseille is also a loan, though there is an option for the French outfit to make the move permanent.

Most of Arsenal's business so far this summer has been finalising outgoing loans. Konstantinos Mavropanos has departed temporarily alongside Saliba and Guendouzi, though he will spend time in Germany in Stuttgart.

However, there are still plenty of deals in the works for the north London side. With Nuno Tavares already snapped up, there are plans to bring in Brighton defender Ben White and Anderlecht midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga, while Leicester's James Maddison is also a rumoured target.

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