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Arsenal fans have William Saliba theory ahead of Man Utd due to Mikel Arteta confession
Arsenal travel to Manchester United in Premier League action on Sunday (4:30pm).
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Arsenal fans are convinced William Saliba may be part of the Arsenal squad this Sunday for Manchester United's trip to Old Trafford. The Frenchman is yet to make an appearance for the first team under Mikel Arteta, since joining up with his team-mates earlier this summer.
Saliba was brought in by Unai Emery in the summer of 2019 for £27million before returning to Saint-Etienne on loan.
He came close to re-joining the Ligue 1 side on deadline day on a temporary deal, after Arteta told him he was free to move out on loan.
Fulham and Brentford had also expressed an interest but Saliba ended up staying put as he bids to turn things around in north London.
The 19-year-old was left out of Arsenal's Europa League squad by Arteta and the Spaniard has already revealed his regret at the decision.
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"I feel really bad for William Saliba," Arteta said. "Because we had so many central defenders, we decided to leave him out of the squad which was really hurtful for me to do.
"I was hoping that Pablo would be back in two weeks but he had a setback and then we don't have Pablo and we don't have William when he's fit and available to play.
"But when you make those decisions, you can't always think about every possible outcome."
Now Saliba is looking to make his mark for the Under-23 side as he attempts to convince Arteta that he is ready for action.
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He played last night for the Gunners youth side against Liverpool in a 1-0 defeat and was withdrawn after 77 minutes for Kido Taylor-Hart.
Fans on social media were convinced the change was linked to his chances of making the bench on Sunday for the trip to Old Trafford.
One fan tweeted: "Keeping him fit for the bench," while another replied: "Can be the only reason."
A third replied: "Keeping him fit for Sunday hopefully," as another commented: "Seems he might be on the bench. In event Luiz can't make it."
keeping him fit for sunday hopefully
— oss (@ossdeux) October 30, 2020
David Luiz has been sidelined with a thigh problem and he is not the only injury Arteta has at tieback.
Rob Holding, Callum Chambers and Pablo Mari are also on the treatment table, meaning Saliba could now be in line for his chance.
Shkodran Mustafi is also carrying an injury from last season and Arteta has now admitted that Saliba is edging closer to his chance.
“He’s in a much better place,” he said. “He’s feeling a lot more confident around the place, his language is improving and he’s starting to understand much better what we are doing physically.”