William Saliba has helped Arsenal challenge for the Premier League title in all three of his seasons under Mikel Arteta and Real Madrid are taking an interest in him
Mikel Arteta has been told that keeping William Saliba amid interest from Real Madrid will stop them from regressing to the Arsenal of old. Saliba, 24, has impressed again this season to give the Gunners, statistically, the best defence in the Premier League.
But they’re still not the team to beat and will go trophy-less for the fifth successive year under Arteta. Saliba has been at the heart of their backline for the last three of those and his performances both domestically and in Europe have impressed Madrid chiefs.
The France international has two years left on his contract and Arsenal are keen to tie him down on a new long-term deal. Talks over a new contract have begun and Saliba, who remains happy at the club, is seeking an increase on his £190,000-a-week wages.
Arsenal can’t afford negotiations to fall through, according to former Gunners midfielder Emmanuel Petit, who believes that selling a star player would mark a return to how the club used to operate. After moving into the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal become renowned for selling their best players to rival clubs both at home and abroad.
Petit doesn’t want Saliba to follow suit and has urged the Gunners not to cash in. “If you want to compete with the best clubs in Europe, you have to improve your squad every season and that happens by keeping hold of your best players,” the Frenchman told Casinozonderlimiet.
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“If Arsenal were to lose William Saliba, it would remind me of the days they needed money after moving to the Emirates, they don’t need to do that anymore. Arsenal have the cash to spend and they need to build on their current team and add strikers and wingers while keeping hold of their defenders.
“The defence has been their strength in the last three or four seasons, one of the best defences in Europe. If they sign forwards but sell defenders, what is the point?
Petit added that he’s ‘tired’ of Arsenal failing to winning trophies, despite progress under Arteta. “Arsenal are still second and got to the semi-final of the Champions League so it’s about what happens next in the transfer market,” the World Cup winner continued.
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“The club needs to bring in top players and keep hold of their best players like William Saliba, who Real Madrid want. Saliba needs to stay and the team needs reinforcement so they can have a better rotation, better quality on the bench because they are losing the big fights.
“After we lost against Paris Saint-Germain, the fans were mocking Arsenal because of that. It’s the same in England, you know, Arsenal are a good team, a good club, but everyone says that they are not one of the top clubs in Europe in terms of history.
“That’s because they have failed and I’m tired of it. This team needs to change the situation and win something, they need to compete until the end and not just at the start.
“They need to get back to the days of 25 years ago and be the team to beat, clubs were scared to play against us and we won titles and got to finals, we put in the steps but that was it. Arsenal need to improve season after season and win the Champions League to prove people wrong.”
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