Arsenal

William Saliba claims to have been "locked up" at Arsenal

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 14 December 2020

Arsenal outcaat William Saliba claims to have been "locked up" at the Emirates Stadium in a now-deleted Instagram comment on Matteo Guendouzi's post.

Arsenal outcast William Saliba claimed that he has been "locked up" at Arsenal in a comment on social media.

Mikel Arteta has preferred the likes of David Luiz, Rob Holding, Shkodran Mustafi and Gabriel Magalhaes over Saliba, who is still waiting for his first competitive appearance in an Arsenal shirt.

The 19-year-old has been restricted to starts for the youth teams this term, and Saliba voiced his frustration in a seemingly light-hearted manner in a now-deleted Instagram comment.

Saliba commented a string of fire emojis on Matteo Guendouzi's post, with the Arsenal man - currently on loan at Hertha Berlin - recently scoring his first goal for the Bundesliga side.

Saliba's teammate Nicolas Pepe replied to the defender with: "That's you problem, you comment on everything." to which Saliba responded: "Hahaha I'm sending well wishes to the brother who was locked up like me."

Guendouzi was frozen out of the Arteta's squad last season following disciplinary issues, while the Gunners are understood to have doubts over Saliba's ability to cut it in the Premier League.

The former Saint-Etienne man could be shipped out on loan in January if his situation does not improve, but Saliba would reportedly want to stay in the UK if he does head elsewhere.