I like your fairy tale version - but in that version, Saliba must be of very low self esteem to be treated like that and then agree to come back to Arsenal in the first place.
Saliba comes across to me as a very confident individual plus he has agents, etc. and as a generational talent, loads of options.
Give me your version of events where it makes sense for Saliba that not playing for 6 months was good for him.
He definitely has conviction to prove Arteta how wrong he was for not listing him.
But since you said it was a chat. Give me a pitch that would convince Saliba that all that made sense.
He was playing for Marseille not some minnow. That season was probably worth a lot in his development
He was not playing for anyone. He was sitting on his ass for 6 months
Saliba has publicly stated that he wasn’t fit when he came to Arsenal.
People forget the added context at the time. Ligue 1 didn’t restart like other leagues that year. Their league outright ended with the lockdown.
Not that I’m following the U21s closely myself but I remember reports about him playing in the U21s and not looking particularly good.
And if I recall correctly, that was the year he lost his parents. Who knows in what mental state he was.
Lots of variables there that could justify a then 19 year old not being thrown into the pit that is the PL, and as a defender no less which makes it even harder.
Saliba is playing at a high level and is regarded as one of the best in the world. That shows we got his development right.
He was a kid and we were a mess when we signed him. No guarantee including him then wouldn’t have harmed his development.
You don’t need to play Saliba even if you list him.
Listing Pablo Mari & Mustafi ahead of Saliba was criminal. You took away all chances of him playing. He can deal with family stuff & adjustment issues in first couple of months and then be in contention by October.
He wasn’t even considered to play League cup ffs.
If he was so bad, how come he was able to play every single possible minute(missed 2 games) for Nice the moment he joined.
He’s talking about when he first arrived Calum.
Saliba joined us in 2020 after we won the FA Cup and wasn’t used till January of 2021 when he went on a six month load at Nice.
That’s 21-22. He was unlisted in 20-21 and then sent on loan to Nice.
Including him wouldn’t have harmed his development if 6 months in reserves didn’t harm his development.
You don’t know that though. What we do know is the way we managed his development has worked. You’re speaking hypotheticals and we’re speaking on what actually happened
I’m not sure if that’s as straightforward mate.
We’re talking about 19 year old boy at the time that lost both his parent in a short space of time in a year where the entire world halted due to the pandemic.
Would you have been surprised if Saliba was offended by not having 6 months of football and demanded to move way from Arsenal?
So the best thing for a kid who is grieving is to ensure his career has a setback
It was an extremely stupid decision and no one can convince me otherwise.
We are lucky Saliba was mature about it and forced Arteta to acknowledge his talent.
Massive setback for a 19 year old being with the U21s for a couple months after moving to a new league and country for the first time.
Both Saliba and Arteta seem pleased in hindsight with how things went. If that wasn’t the case Saliba wouldn’t be here right now, ready to snub the biggest club in the world by signing a long term deal with Arsenal.
5 months
He was U21 player. Arsenal didn’t even need to use one of the 25 man slot to include him.
You are telling me that
Listing him, playing him in reserves and then loaning him out
Is worse than
NOT Listing him, playing him in reserves and then loaning him out
How does that make sense?
Ah wait, there was no need to list him.
That changes things for me.
My bad
Well, how about this, you think an appearance in some irrelevant senior game before heading out on loan would’ve changed much?
Or did you want him to be involved in our more serious games at the time? Because if that’s the case, and Saliba was indeed not ready, he would’ve been under a lot of scrutiny and that could have easily had a negative effect on him.
