Arsenal's William Saliba 'wants to stay in the UK'

Arsenal defender William Saliba would reportedly like to stay in the UK if he decides to move on loan in January.

The 19-year-old is yet to make an appearance under manager Mikel Arteta this campaign since returning from his loan spell at boyhood club Saint-Etienne.

The Frenchman joined the Gunners for around £27m in the summer of 2019, however Arteta does not feel that Saliba is ready to feature for the first team and is willing to let the defender move on loan this winter.

Summer signing Gabriel Magalhaes as well as David Luiz, Rob Holding, Shkodran Mustafi, Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers all are centre-back options for Arteta along with Saliba, but the young Frenchman seems to be a long way down the pecking order as things stand.

According to The Athletic, Saliba is willing to move on loan next month as he seeks more game time, and his preference is to stay in the UK.

A return to France is also an option for Saliba but both Arsenal and the Frenchman believe that staying put in the UK would help speed up his adaption to British football.