William Saliba proves Thierry Henry was wrong about Mikel Arteta's Arsenal decision paying off

William Saliba’s progression this season and his most recent Ligue 1 nomination shows that Thierry Henry was wrong about Arsenal’s treatment of the Frenchman. Saliba has been thriving for Marseille this season and has grown in maturity which has given him more of a chance to succeed in north London.

The young defender has been nominated as one of four players to win the Ligue 1 young player of the year award for the 2021/2022 season. This is a reflection of Saliba’s excellent performances during his loan spell at Marseille in this campaign.

If the 21-year-old decided to stay at Arsenal this season he may not have been given the same opportunities because of the competitiveness of Mikel Arteta’s squad. But, his loan move has proven to be valuable and it was a good decision by the club not to keep Saliba for this campaign.

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Speaking on Saliba’s situation at Arsenal, Henry said: “They didn’t even let him make a mistake. He didn’t even have the chance to compete for his place. What he is doing here is extraordinary. He was rewarded with a selection for the France team," Henry said in an interview with Amazon Prime.

"Now he belongs to Arsenal, I don’t know where he will end up. We have seen that it was a little difficult for him to express himself on the subject.”

Saliba was sent out on loan at the start of the season after he was not going to be guaranteed first-team minutes. It was a decision that Arteta had full faith in, as he said: “I think we are really happy with the decision that we made because again the exposure and minutes and responsibility on his growth at his age is something that we could not guarantee him this