News that William Saliba has agreed a new five-year contract with Arsenal will be greeted with universal help in the red half of North London.
The 24-year-old French International has become a cornerstone of the club’s Renaissance under Mikel Arteta and settled as one of the most dominant center halves of the Premier League in the three years since he made his club debut in Crystal Palace.
With Saliba almost always present, Arsenal has put together the best defensive record in the division in the past two seasons.
He played every minute of the competition campaign of 2023-24-one record unparalleled by another Outfield Arsenal player in the Premier League era while the club could not win or kept a clean magazine in one of the three league matches he missed in the previous period.
In short, Saliba has become indispensable for his club – and, inevitably, attracted guards from rival clubs.
What other clubs did Wiliam Saliba want to sign?
The most important of these has been Real Madrid.
Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba is generally expected to leave the Bernabéu when their respective contracts will expire next summer, by that time Saliba would only have had a year about his previous contract.
It was in that knowledge that Madrid sent representatives to view the 1-1 draw of Arsenal with Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Given the usual preference of the club for signing players who do not have a contract, they spoke to their interest in Saliba volumes.
Various high -profile defenders are in the last year of their existing deals, including Ibrahima Konaté from Liverpool, Bayern Munich Dayot Upamecano and the Crystal Palace Captain Marc Guéhi. Everything is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club in January, and all are linked to a switch to the Spanish capital.
With less expensive options available, it speaks about the quality of Saliba that he remained the primary target of Madrid, although he would have offered a considerable fee.
What did William Saliba say about signing a new arsenal contract?
Arsenal still has to make a public announcement about the new Saliba deal, with the formalities that are expected to be completed in the coming days.
However, the agreement marks the peak of months of negotiations, and the Frenchman hinted with a positive result when he was asked about the subject this summer.
“Yes, hopefully,” Saliba said when he was asked if a new deal was on the cards. “There is nothing now, but there is a good conversation with my agent and the club. Let’s take a look.”
How old will William Saliba be when his new arsenal contract ends?
The successful conclusion of those conversations promises to keep Saliba at Arsenal during his peak years.
He will be 29 by the time that his last deal expires, and with his central defending partner Gabriel Magalhães who was dedicated to the club until 2029 after signing a contract extension this summer, the club seems to retain a strong defensive spine for the near future.
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