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Kevin Campbell has defended William Saliba after his recent comments on his parent club Arsenal. The former Gunner believes the on-loan defender has the right mindset and will succeed at Emirates.
Arsenal signed Saliba from Saint-Étienne in 2019 for a reported £27million, but he never got a chance at the Emirates. He was loaned out to Nice for the second half of last season and is now at Marseille for the rest of the 2021-22 campaign.
Saliba's recent comments in an interview with Eurosport saw many interpret it as a sign he wants to remain at the Ligue 1 club. However, Kevin Campbell believes Saliba is working hard to keep his place at Marseille and wants to break into the Arsenal team when he is back. He told Football Insider:
"He is showing the right mindset. His mind is on Marseille and so it should be right now because that is who he is playing for. He is going to be fully committed while he is there. You can imagine he is being asked these questions time and time again. Whatever happens he's an Arsenal player. I ain't that fussed about it, if I'm honest. Let's not make more of it than it is."
William Saliba recently commented on his time at Arsenal
Arsenal loaned William Saliba back to Saint-Étienne for the 2019-20 season before keeping him for the 2020-21 season. However, Arteta never gave Saliba a game for six months, and he was loaned out to Nice in January.
Speaking to Eurosport about his time at Arsenal, Saliba said:
"There are hard times. I hadn't played a game for six months. You have to fight in a career. We must take that as a lesson to go further. It gave me a little slap to say: 'You are nobody!' You can be bought for €30 million, arrive in a club and we put you aside. I took this experience by being positive. I feed on it. I know what it's like not to play for six months. Today, I want to play every game. It puts the ideas back in place. Before arriving at Arsenal, I said to myself: 'Who am I going to play with?' And then you are not even in the group in the Premier League."
Arsenal are yet to decide Saliba's future, but Arteta has insisted the Frenchman is part of the club's plans. The defender has played in 17 of Marseille's 18 league games so far this season and has made a vital contribution to their strong position on the table. The team is currently third in Ligue 1, midway through the season
