Matteo Guendouzi has revealed he is adamant William Saliba will return to Marseille next season as uncertainty over his Arsenal future continues.
Saliba impressed during his loan spell in Ligue 1 last season, helping Marseille finish second and qualify for the Champions League for just the second time in the last eight years. They dropped down from the Europa League to the Europa Conference League last term, falling to Feyenoord in the semi-finals.
Guendouzi himself has already secured a permanent departure from north London, with his exit confirmed in March, and the France midfielder has now claimed he will be working hard to get Saliba back to Stade Velodrome.
He said: “William [Saliba] now has Marseille in his heart. I’m sure that he’ll come back to Marseille next season. I’m going to keep pushing so that he stays with us.”
Saliba is yet to make his official debut for the Gunners despite joining the club in 2019, instead spending time on loan with hometown club Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille.
Listen now to 90min’s Arsenal podcast, The Chronicles of a Gooner. On this episode, Harry Symeou reports of Mikel Arteta’s unhappiness with the Arsenal hierarchy and potential transfer moves for West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and Leeds United’s Raphinha.
Earlier in June, he said he would return to Arsenal this summer, adding: “I belong to Arsenal. I still have two years left on my contract. I will be back with Arsenal.
“I have played zero matches for them and I still want to show them who I really am and have the chance to play for these fans and this great club.
“But it doesn’t just depend on me. In any case, leaving [without playing for Arsenal] would be a shame.”
Elsewhere, Arsenal are confident of bringing in Leicester midfielder Youri Tielemans and are also readying an official offer for Sassuolo attacker Gianluca Scamacca.