William Saliba's Arsenal career certainly hasn't got off to the best start.

The French centre-back is yet to make an appearance for the Gunners' first-team, while he didn't exactly set the world alight with the club's U23 side either.

As such, the 19-year-old - who signed from Saint-Etienne in a £27m deal - has now joined Ligue 1 side Nice on loan for the remainder of the 2020/21 season.

It's believed Arsenal still see Saliba as a key part of their future plans and technical director Edu remains "confident" about the French youth international's career in north London.

"William experienced a very challenging time last year, with his playing time limited by injury and the early ending of the Ligue 1 season due to the pandemic," Edu said, per BBC.

"We will be keeping in close contact with William during his time with Nice and look forward to seeing him make good progress until the end of the season."

It's been a rather strange episode for Gunners fans, as they were convinced the highly-rated teenager would play a pivotal role in the first-team this season.

Supporters have voiced their frustration on numerous occasions and it seems even players close to Saliba are puzzled by Arsenal's stance.

The 19-year-old's former Saint-Etienne teammate Wesley Fofana, who's now a key man at Leicester City, posted a eye-catching message on his Instagram story with regards to Saliba's move to Nice.

Fofana's message to Saliba

The 20-year-old Foxes defender simply wrote: "He's finally free."

Fofana has made his feelings clear and given how he's adapted to English football since leaving Saint-Etienne, you can understand why he's spoken out.

During their days as teammates, Saliba was viewed as the bigger prospect of the two, but their careers have gone in opposite directions in recent months.

Fofana clearly knows his former teammate has what it takes to succeed at Arsenal, however, it remains to be seen whether Saliba will be offered the chance to do so.