Despite his insistence that he would have been satisfied either way, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will undoubtedly have been left delighted by the fact center back William Saliba was not called up to Zinédine Zidane’s latest France roster.

Saliba has not played since the World Cup, where a back injury he had long been managing ultimately reached a point that required an extended spell on the sidelines. The star defender made it back to the bench for Arsenal’s 2–1 win over Slavia Prague in midweek but went unused.

Before Zidane announced his latest group, Arteta confirmed he had been in “very close contact” with French officials over Saliba, insisting they had “all the information” ahead of a final decision.

Asked whether he would rather Saliba did not join up with France, Arteta stressed: “I think it’s something between them more, because William needs minutes as well, I know how much he loves to be around the national team.…