The Gunners remember their $33million-defender – but will they play him?

Why spend a fortune on a player and never give him a chance to play? It's a good question. And if you ask Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal predecessor Unai Emery, French center-back William Saliba isn't ready yet. He looks ready. He trains like he's ready. He's been playing for OGC Nice like he was he's ready. So, who knows… Maybe he really is ready?

Saliba arrived in for $33m from Saint-Etienne in 2019 but has yet to play a single game for the Gunners.

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Manager Arteta left Saliba out of his Premier League and Europa League squads at the start of the season - despite many pundits in France regarding him as one of their best up-and-coming youngsters. It led to the 20-year-old signing for Nice on loan until the end of the season in January, where he has impressed.

With the summer transfer window coming up, Arteta was asked what his plans with the defender were going into the new season and gave a somewhat encouraging answer.

"You will see in the summer the possible replacement. William is our player for sure, and that's the decision that we're going to be taking soon. We will make a decision based on the agreement of the role that each player is going to have in the squad."

Saliba has made 22 appearances for CGC Nice since moving there in January. The Eagles moved from 12th to 9th in the League 1 table, with the former Saint-Etienne playing regularly. Earlier in the season, he spoke about Arteta's reluctance to give him more playing time.

"He judged me on two-and-a-half matches. I would have liked for him to play me more. But he told me I wasn't ready. I was waiting for him to give me a chance, but football is like that."

Arsenal will lose at least one defender in the upcoming transfer window, with David Luiz announcing his decision to leave when his contract is up. Has the time finally arrived for the Gunners to finally put their trust in William Saliba?