William Saliba ‘can’t be expected to walk straight into Arsenal team’, says Keown as he warns defender of pressure
WILLIAM SALIBA has been warned that he can't be expected to walk straight into Arsenal's team, by Gunners legend Martin Keown.
The centre-back was signed from St Etienne for £27million last summer but was immediately loaned back to the French club for the season.
The teenager has now joined up with the Gunners after talks over extending his stay in Ligue 1 collapsed.
The 19-year-old's Arsenal debut is highly anticipated by fans considering the club's well-documented defensive struggles.
ARSENAL NEWS LIVE: Click here for the latest Gunners news
But Keown says he is worried about the amount of pressure on Saliba, considering that he has only made 28 Ligue 1 appearances in his career.
"It is one of those where I would have been happier if Arsenal had paid more money and brought him in straight at the start of last season.
"There have long-been questions over the Arsenal defence and Saliba was expensive, but he is also young and has not played that many professional games.
"It can’t be expected that he will walk straight into Arsenal, right into the team and be on it from the off."
Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Rob Holding, Calum Chambers all remain on Arsenal's books but are thought to be up for sale.
While Arteta also has Pablo Mari, David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi as options at the heart of his defence.
And Keown added: "There are eight or nine central defenders contracted to the football club.
"So there is almost a team of central defenders and obviously Arteta can’t retain all of them so some of them should be moved out – even if some are currently injured now.
"Arteta might not feel he can shift any of those defenders this summer but the board will probably tell him he has to get rid of players in that position if he wants to sign a new centre-back."