William Saliba has revealed a decision to ignore Arsenal’s transfer advice helped dramatically change the trajectory of his career.
The France international joined the Gunners in the summer of 2019 following a £27million move from Saint-Etienne.
Saliba had already cemented a reputation as one of Europe’s most promising defenders and, as such, Arsenal were forced to agree that the centre-half could return to hit boyhood club on loan for another season.
Upon his return to Arsenal, Saliba found that Unai Emery had been replaced by Mikel Arteta who immediately deemed he was not yet ready for first team Premier League football.
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Saliba subsequently spent six months at Nice before Arteta and Arsenal were forced to make another decision about his future.
Arsenal’s hierarchy at the time decided another loan to a Premier League rival would help get him ready to contend with the unique demands of the English game, but Saliba dug his heels in and argued a year at Marseille would serve him best.
‘Arsenal wanted me to go to Newcastle United or Crystal Palace, but I didn’t want to [do that],’ Saliba told L’Équipe.
‘I remember that summer, it was either Lille OSC or Marseille. I was on the verge of joining Lille but there was a financial problem.
‘It was this financial problem that led him to OM. But Saliba admits that there was initially some reticence.
‘Marseille is a big club, but it is scary. ‘It was the season where it was a bit crazy, where the supporters had gone to the Commanderie (OM’s training ground).
‘But, with my agent, we said: ‘Marseille, if you go there and have a good season, it is the team in France and things can move quickly.
‘Jorge Sampaoli really wanted me. I went to Marseille and things moved so quickly. I played almost all of the matches. My value rose again. I started having fun again.’
‘By March, I was playing my first matches for France. It was an incredible year. I honestly loved Marseille: the supporters, the club, my teammates… football is like that.
‘You build again from the bottom; it’s not a problem. Buckle up. If you do things well, you’ll get back to the top.’