Yahoo Finance William Saliba: Mikel Arteta told me I was not ready to play for Arsenal yet
William Saliba says he wasn’t given enough time to prove himself at Arsenal after being loaned to Nice.
The defender has joined the French club until the end of the season after failing to make his Arsenal debut in the first half of the campaign.
Big things were expected of Saliba when he returned to Arsenal this summer after he spent last season on loan at Saint-Etienne following his £27million move.
The 19-year-old, however, has been playing for the Gunners’ Under-23s and was left out of their Europa League squad.
Manager Mikel Arteta has explained Saliba is not yet ready for the first-team, but the Frenchman does not believe he was given enough time.
“My first six months were difficult, because I was coming from six months where I wasn’t able to train because I was at home and couldn’t train outside, couldn’t play,” said Saliba at his Nice unveiling on Friday.
“I arrived there as they were finishing the league season, so I was training alone. As soon as they came back from holidays, we quickly had the first friendly matches where I lacked rhythm and was a bit insufficient physically.
“The coach immediately told me that I was not ready. I would have at least liked to have a chance to rediscover my rhythm. But this is football, it’s like that.”
Interest in Saliba was said to be high this January, with Marseille also keen on signing the defender on loan.
The youngster, however, has said Nice was always his preferred destination and his decision has been vindicated given he has already made his debut just days after joining.
“Nice was certainly my top choice, because it is a good club that I have liked for a long time,” he said.
“It is a club that fights at the top of the table, that fights to be in European competition. It is a club with ambition, that has a good style of play, style of possession.
“As for Saint-Etienne, that is my home, and my comfort zone. I wanted to leave my comfort zone to come to Nice, a club I have never played for. I am sure it is the best choice.
“I arrived on Monday, things happened quite quickly. I had one training session, today is my second training session.
“Nice is not in the place that it should be, but each club has its own difficult moments. We are going to try and quickly get back to where we should be.
“I have signed a six-month contract, after these six months we will see what happens. But for now I have signed for six months, I am going to give my all, and then we will see.”
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