‘Finally free’ – Leicester’s Wesley Fofana hints at Saliba-Arsenal problems following loan exit
Last Updated: January 8, 2021 3:24 pm
Nice switch
The major transfer news in England this evening of course came in the form of confirmation that Saliba had departed north London for the 2nd-half of the campaign.
In a post across the club’s social media platforms, Arsenal announced that their out-of-favour young stopper has returned to his home country with OGC Nice, on a 6-month loan:
🗞 William Saliba has joined Ligue 1 side Nice on loan for the remainder of the season
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 4, 2021
Accompanying the Gunners’ announcement, meanwhile, was a statement on the part of technical director Edu, who appeared keen to reiterate that Saliba has a long-term future at the Emirates:
‘William Saliba is a player with a huge amount of talent and potential. We’re confident he will have a great career with us but we must remember that he is still only 19 years old and has a lot of time ahead of him.’
‘So together with William, we have decided that spending the rest of the season on loan with Nice is the best way for him to develop.’
This of course comes with the Frenchman having failed to garner a single first-team appearance under Mikel Arteta over the opening half of the campaign.
‘Free’
As outlined above, however, if the latest social media activity on the part of Wesley Fofana is anything to go by, then the relationship between Saliba and Arsenal may not be quite as rosy as Edu this evening attempted to make it out to be.
Fofana, who has shone over the early months of his time in the Premier League with Leicester City, is known to be a close friend of the 19-year-old, with the pair having developed alongside one another at Saint-Etienne.
As such, it feels safe to assume that Fofana and Saliba kept in touch regarding their respective early experiences of English football.
In turn, it will no doubt come as a concern for Arsenal to hear of the Foxes standout inferring that his compatriot was essentially imprisoned in north London.
In a post on his official Instagram account, as showcased below, Fofana reacted to Saliba’s Emirates exit with the simple claim: ‘He is finally free’:
Wesley Fofana (Leicester City defender) on Instagram story, after his best friend & ex-Saint Etienne team-mate William Saliba was loaned to Ligue 1 side Nice tonight: “He is finally free 😍🥳” [IG story: lawestt_] #afc pic.twitter.com/X1tBdg7s9F
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) January 4, 2021
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Arsenal betting odds, next game:
Burnley vs Arsenal odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Burnley vs Arsenal Result/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Burnley | 17/2 | 7/1 |
| Arsenal | 11/4 | 7/4 |
| Draw | 9/2 | 10/1 |
| Burnley vs Arsenal Goalscorers | First | Last | Anytime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | 13/8 | 13/8 | 10/11 |
| Alexandre Lacazette | 15/8 | 15/8 | 1/1 |
| Eddie Nketiah | 21/10 | 21/10 | 6/5 |
| Folarin Balogun | 11/4 | 11/4 | 8/5 |
| Nicolas Pepe | 11/4 | 11/4 | 8/5 |
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 27 | 39 | 65 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 27 | 21 | 51 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 27 | 15 | 50 |
| 4 | Chelsea FC | 27 | 17 | 47 |
| 5 | Everton FC | 26 | 6 | 46 |
| 6 | West Ham United FC | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 7 | Liverpool FC | 27 | 12 | 43 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 26 | 15 | 42 |
| 9 | Aston Villa FC | 25 | 11 | 39 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 26 | 7 | 37 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 26 | -1 | 35 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 27 | -9 | 34 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 27 | -14 | 34 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 26 | -13 | 30 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 27 | -16 | 29 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 26 | -7 | 26 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 26 | -17 | 26 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 27 | -12 | 23 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 27 | -36 | 17 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 27 | -27 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 15 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 7 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 6 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 4 |
