Publication date: Tuesday 25 August 2020 1:58
A report revealed that new Premier League boy William Saliba turned down a move to Man Utd before deciding to join Arsenal last year.
The Gunners appear to be on an upward trajectory under Mikel Arteta, with their recent FA Cup success proving their progress.
However, question marks remain on their backline. They have averaged over 40 more goals in the past three Premier League seasons than their traditional top six rivals.
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Arteta is working hard to address this problem. The Gunners are expected to sign a £ 25m contract for Lille’s Gabriel Magalhaes this week.
The downside is that Arsenal should see a series of starts, with The likes of Rob Holding are reportedly coming out.
Arteta may be looking to pair Gabriel with teenage star Saliba – a £ 27m purchase from Saint-Etienne last summer.
However, it may have been a different story for Arsenal after it emerged that Man Utd failed in an attempt to get him to Old Trafford.
According to Daily Telegraph, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made Saliba one of his priority signings after accepting a job at United in December 2018.
The newspaper says United have firmly approached St Etienne to sign the teenager in January 2019. It has also been claimed that they have offered Saliba “very lucrative” personal conditions to sign for the Red Devils.
However, according to the report, Saliba turned down the opportunity for three reasons.
Firstly, Arsenal had already played it during a move months earlier. As such, Saliba felt he “owed” his loyalty to the Gunners with the foundations for a deal already concluded.
Second, Saliba felt his first team prospects would be better served to Emirates. Even now, United have six half-court options, if you include unwanted Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo on that list.
Thirdly, it is claimed that Saliba supported Arsenal as a boy and that he wanted to join his childhood team before anyone else. The Teleghraph claims to have dreamed of following a long line of compatriots playing for the Gunners.
