'Very odd': Martin Tyler says it's really strange how Mikel Arteta has handled £27m Arsenal player

07/04/2024 11:15 AM

Mikel Arteta has done an incredible job at Arsenal in recent years.

The Spaniard has taken the Gunners from being Premier League pretenders to Champions League contenders in no time at all, and he's done it by incorporating talented young players and recruiting cleverly.

William Saliba has been at the heart of this Arsenal revolution over the past two years, but, at one point, the centre-back looked as though he would never get his chance at Arsenal.

Indeed, it took over two years for Saliba to make his Arsenal debut after his £27m move to the Emirates Stadium, and, at one point, it appeared he had a bit of an issue with Mikel Arteta.

Speaking on The Joy of Football Podcast, Martin Tyler has been discussing Saliba and his progression at Arsenal, and the veteran commentator has noted that he found the way Saliba was handled very odd, claiming that he believes there was more than meets the eye with this situation.

Martin Tyler says William Saliba situation was odd

The commentator spoke about the defender.

"What have you made of William Saliba?" Tyler was asked.

"I think it was very odd that he didn't come back to Arsenal earlier," Tyler said.

"I have a suspicion that there might be something that is not available to us as journalists to know about. There might be a reason why when he looked like such a good player out on loan, but he's come back and lived up to all of the promise."

Saliba situation is sorted now

Tyler is right, the Saliba situation was very odd at the time. However, it doesn't really matter now.

Indeed, while there was a moment a few years ago where it looked like the defender would be sold, all parties have moved past that now and Saliba is now one of Arsenal's best and most important players.

Mikel Arteta did handle Saliba strangely at first, but, in the end, it's all worked out for every party involved.