William Saliba set to ink new contract with Arsenal
William Saliba is set to sign a new four-year contract with Arsenal, according to ESPN.
The 22-year-old central defender has become a key part of Mikel Arteta’s rejuvenated Arsenal squad. He formed a formidable backline partnership with Gabriel in a new-look Arsenal backline.
Saliba made 27 Premier League appearances for the Gunners this season. During those appearances, he kept 12 clean sheets and Arsenal only conceded 25 goals.
This means that when Saliba was on the field, Arsenal conceded less than a goal a game, an impressive stat highlighting just how good the Frenchman was.
Unfortunately for Saliba, however, he was injured in Arsenal’s Europa League tie against Sporting Lisbon in March.
Arsenal struggled after his injury, winning only four of its 10 remaining Premier League games. This dip in form allowed Manchester City to catch the Gunners in the table and ultimately oust Arsenal from first place to win the former’s third-straight Premier League table.
Saliba signed for Arsenal from AS Saint-Éttiene in 2019 for a fee of around £27 million. Still, despite Saliba’s apparent potential, he initially struggled to gain footing at Arsenal.
He returned to Saint-Éttiene on loan for the 2019-20 season. After coming back to England, he struggled to get into the squad. Arteta believed he was not ready for Premier League action, relegating Saliba to the club’s youth teams.
He then had to make further loan moves to secure playing time, first with Nice and then with Marseille.
Now, Saliba has become one of the best center-backs in the Premier League, and at 22 years of age, is only going to get better.
Naturally, his performances garnered a fair amount of interest following the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. With his current deal set to expire in 12 months, top clubs from England and abroad began circling, with Real Madrid highlighting the list of clubs that were interested in signing him
However, despite the interest, he is now set to sign his new contract with Arsenal in the coming weeks.
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