Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is eager to see William Saliba depart on-loan next month.

That's according to Eurosport, which claim it was believed the 19-year-old would be pushing for a place at the Emirates this season.

Yet Arsenal boss Arteta feels Saliba still needs a 'transition year' to get him to the required level to play in the Premier League.

The Frenchman moved to Arsenal in the summer of 2019 for £27million, before being loaned back to Saint-Etienne.

Saliba was supposed to get regular game time back in his homeland at an important stage of his development.

But a succession of injuries, coupled with the suspension of the Ligue 1 season in March, limited the talented defender to just 15 appearances.

And Saliba has since failed to feature for Arsenal in the Prem this term, while he was also left out of Arteta's 25-man squad for the Europa League.

He was an unused substitute in the Community Shield, as well as for the EFL Cup third round victory over Leicester.

Otherwise, he has been limited to Under-23s football, playing in five of Arsenal's PL2 matches.