Arsenal will not look to sell centre-back William Saliba and are looking to loan out the 19-year-old in the January transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Italian journalist claimed on his ‘Here We Go’ podcast that Serie A leaders AC Milan tried to sign the Frenchman on a permanent basis in the summer, despite the defender having not played a single first-team game for the Gunners.

However, the offer was turned down as manager Mikel Arteta is keen to see the player develop his game on loan at another club before returning to the Emirates to become part of the first-team setup.

Saliba was signed when Unai Emery was still in charge at the club in the summer of 2019 but he was loaned back to Saint-Etienne in order to gain more first-team experience.

However, with the French league season having been curtailed due to the global health crisis, the teenager only played 17 games last season and Arteta feels the player needs another transition year before he is ready to play in the Premier League.