Loan Watch: William Saliba wins league awards at Olympique de Marseille

Arsenal centre-back William Saliba won the Ligue 1 young player of the year and was included in the Ligue 1 team of the season while on his loan spell for Marseille. Saliba’s had an impressive spell making 31 appearances and attributing to 13 clean sheets this season. Not only did he help propel Marseille to a current third-place spot in the league, but he led Marseille in minutes played with a total of 3,240 minutes. The 21-year-old is wrapping up his third loan spell since joining Arsenal in 2019, with all three loans in Ligue 1. One loan with Saint-Etienne, a half-season loan with Nice, and the latest one with Marseille.

Saliba was instrumental in helping Marseille secure Champions League football for next season. Saliba has already said many times he’s unsure of where his future lies but has said nothing but positive things about Marseille. Saliba only missed one match last September when they played Angers. His performances were impressive enough to receive his first call-up with the French national team, in which he played in two friendlies against Ivory Coast and South Africa.

It remains unclear whether or not the French international defender will be a part of Mikel Arteta’s plans next season, but reports suggest that Saliba and his agent will meet with Arsenal about his future with the club. It’s been reported that Saliba is looking for game time and not to sit on the bench at Arsenal. With the Gunners securing European competition for next season, it’s a real possibility that Arteta will indeed have Saliba in his plans. Arsenal currently has a center-back dilemma with Rob Holding suspended a game and both Gabriel and Ben White nursing injuries. By having more games for next season, it’ll be vital for Arsenal to have more than three healthy centre-backs on their roster.

While Arsenal has two remaining games in their schedule, Marseille has one more game remaining in their season. Arsenal will be facing Newcastle United tomorrow on the road, while Marseille will be closing out their season against Strasbourg on Saturday.