Former Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna thinks Mikel Arteta’s decision to loan William Saliba out in January should not be viewed as a “punishment” for the youngster.
The 20-year-old defender finally joined Arsenal last summer, a year after the Gunners paid £27m to sign him from Saint-Etienne.
Saliba was sent straight back to the Ligue Un club for the 2019/20 season but was at the centre of a controversy surrounding his return to north London.
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Saliba has failed to establish himself in the first team under a “fed up” Arteta since, with David Ornstein explaining his struggles in October.
As a result, Arsenal sent him back to France on loan, this time with mid-table Nice – but Sagna doesn’t think it is a “bad thing” for the Arsenal youngster.
Sagna told Goal: “I’m not surprised because he has joined the best league in the world. Being good in France is totally different to proving himself in the Premier League.
“I still have trust in him, I think he is a good player and he can adapt to Arsenal because I’ve seen him play many times.
“He is doing well at Nice and has probably been their best player. At that age you need to be playing. He has big potential and in France people know it.
“Sending him away is not a bad thing, it’s not a punishment. To me it’s clever to send him [on loan] rather than him being on the bench or not even being in the squad.”
On what Saliba could improve on, Sagna added: “I’m watching games and maybe he needs to be a bit more aggressive.
“Be a leader, especially in his position. I don’t know if he speaks English. This could be a problem when you come to a new country, but you need to adapt fast, you don’t have time.
“Time is a luxury you don’t have when you come to a club like Arsenal because you have to play straight away.
“To adapt it takes months and Mikel probably saw a problem and thought ‘you need to be more aggressive, you need go out somewhere and play’.
“Then when he comes back, he will have the mentality needed for the Premier League.”
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