Arsenal's William Saliba wins Player of the Month award at Nice

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 07 February 2021

Arsenal defender William Saliba scoops the January Player of the Month award at Nice after impressing for the Ligue 1 outfit since his loan move last month.

Arsenal defender William Saliba - currently on loan at Nice - has won the Player of the Month award after an impressive start to life with Les Aiglons.

Despite not playing a single minute of first-team football during his first few months with Arsenal, Adrien Ursea threw Saliba straight into the starting lineup when he arrived on loan last month.

The 19-year-old has played the full 90 minutes in Nice's last six matches and helped Ursea's side keep a clean sheet in their 1-0 victory over Lens on January 23.

Having quickly become a regular for the Ligue 1 strugglers, Saliba won the Player of the Month award for January with 44% of the fans' votes - with fellow teenager defender Flavius Daniliuc second on 22% and goalkeeper Walter Benitez third with 11% of the votes.

Despite impressing for Nice, Saliba's side have lost four of their six Ligue 1 matches in 2021 and they find themselves in 14th before Sunday's showdown with Angers.

After being frozen out of the Arsenal team under Mikel Arteta, Saliba has frequently voiced his frustrations about not being given a chance at the Emirates Stadium earlier in the season.