Arsenal defender William Saliba has affirmed that he wants regular playing time if he is to remain in North London.

The France international has only made eight appearances for the Gunners' Under-23 side so far and has been shipped out on loan to Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille since arriving in 2019.

Saliba has established himself as a regular fixture for the Champions League-chasing Olympiens this term, with his form in the 2021-22 season seeing him earn his first call-up to the senior France squad.

The 21-year-old is expected to be integrated into Mikel Arteta's first team when he returns in the summer, but he has insisted that he would not be happy with a substitute role at the Emirates.

Speaking to L'Equipe, Saliba said: "I definitely can't settle for being on the bench at Arsenal and being happy [with it]. I want to be a starter. But then if I do get into the rotation as a substitute, it wouldn't be like staying with the U23 and never being in the team.

"They [Arsenal] are in contact with my agent [Djibril Niang]. They send me messages. They watch my games. They tell me I need to carry on like this. I haven't played a lot with the Gunners.

"The manager [Mikel Arteta] made his choice, that's life. I left on loan, I'm playing a lot of matches and thanks to my performances, I've become a full international.

"What happened to me has seen me forge a stronger mentality. It's not because you cost €30m (£25.3m) that you're going to play. I see things positively. Even if there are moments where you ask yourself questions. For six months, I could see I was the only one in the squad that wasn't playing, that would hurt."

Saliba previously affirmed that staying on at Marseille "would not be a bad idea", but Jorge Sampaoli's side were reportedly handed a one-year transfer ban by FIFA in January over their move for Pape Gueye.