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Arsenal have had such a solid defence for much of this season, it is a real blow for Mikel Arteta to lose such crucial parts of it at a pivotal time of the season. Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey missing out have destabilised the foundation built throughout the campaign.

However, there have been increasingly concerning signs from Gabriel Magalhaes. The young defender is expected to make errors as he develops but with a young Arsenal hotshot pushing for a place in the team next summer, these mistakes could cost him a place.

William Saliba’s performances on loan for Marseille have earned him a place in the French national team with Didier Deschamps a huge fan of the 20-year-old. There is a strong argument the youngster has been the standout defender in the entire league having played more minutes than any other OM player.

Speaking to L’Equipe, Saliba has opened the door to integrating into the Arsenal team through ‘rotation.’ Admitting that this would be a significantly different step compared to playing in the youth setup as he did at the back end of 2020 before leaving on loan in January for Nice.

"They are often in contact with my agent," Saliba said. "They send me messages. They watch my matches. They tell me to continue like this. I haven't played much with the Gunners. The coach made his choices, that's life. I left on