Arsenal management to 'block' William Saliba from participating in Paris Olympics 2024: Report

The French defender has grown a lot under Mikel Arteta

Thierry Henry’s Olympic preparations suffered a further setback when Le Parisien revealed that Arsenal would not permit 23-year-old William Saliba to compete for France.

Real Madrid are a particularly notable, but by no means the exception, club that has announced that it will not permit its players to take part in the Summer Games being held in Paris, and the U23s coach has had to contend with this. Real Madrid sent a letter outlining their plans to the French Football Federation.

Saliba is the most recent player to be excluded from the France national team for the tournament; this decision was probably made since the defence for Arsenal would be included in Didier Deschamps’ roster for the Euros.

If Saliba participated in both the Olympics and the Euros, he would have very little time off following a demanding season and no preseason to get ready for the following campaign because the two competitions are only a few weeks apart.

Saliba was initially selected for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, but he later pulled out of the team to avoid missing any of Arsenal’s preseason games in an attempt to convince Mikel Arteta to rejoin the team after a loan with Nice.

The tournament spans from June 14 to July 14. Players who make the cut must take an extra day off before reporting to their clubs for preseason play.

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The Olympic Football Tournament, meantime, takes place from July 24 to August 9, with the championship match taking place one week before August 16, which might be the start of the forthcoming Premier League season.

President of the French Football Federation Philippe Diallo recently said, “Our aim is to build the best team possible,” and he urged Henry to make no substitutions.

Henry is therefore allegedly eager to choose the young Gunners star, but his former team, who does not want the 22-year-old absent for the beginning of the 2024–25 season, may reject his request.

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