Arsenal are “very confident” that William Saliba will sign a new contract at the Emirates, as per CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs.
Despite the fact that Manchester City are close to clinching their third Premier League title in the last four seasons, Mikel Arteta’s side have enjoyed a fruitful campaign and they have done exceedingly well to surpass expectations.
Saliba has been outstanding for the Gunners and it doesn’t come as a big surprise that their form suffered badly after the French defender got injured towards the end of March.
The 22-year-old joined the Gunners in 2019 on a five-year deal worth £40k-per-week and having established himself as a key player under Mikel Arteta this season, Arsenal are desperate to tie him down to a long-term deal.
Negotiations have been ongoing for months and Jacobs says that there is growing confidence that he will sign a new deal at the club after an impressive campaign.
Jacobs said to Give Me Sport:
“If you look at the Saliba deal as its own entity, it’s another one that Arsenal are very confident they’ll get over the line.
“That will be a reflection of the fact that Arsenal have a core and a foundation to build on, win or lose the Premier League, to be that team that automatically almost ends up with a Champions League spot, which is what they’re looking for, and tries to continue to challenge with Manchester City.
“It’s easy to look at Arsenal’s season as one of doom and gloom because they’ve wobbled at the wrong time, and it might cost them the Premier League. But if they end second with Champions League football and get all these renewals done, from a foundational and project point of view, they’ll be delighted even though the league position may not be what they wanted.”
Need to be done
The French defender has just one year remaining on his current deal at Arsenal, and the club will have to cash in on him if he refuses to commit to his future at the club.
Hopefully, after a fantastic campaign, he will feel that the club is heading in the right direction and he can play a huge role going forward.
Arsenal must look to keep hold of their best talents like Saka and Saliba after a successful season. It looks like the Gunners will miss out on the Premier League title after they lost 3-0 against Brighton, but a second finish in the Premier League should be seen as a huge sign of progress.
Saliba picked up an injury during Arsenal’s Europa League clash against Sporting Lisbon and he couldn’t recover from the damage to his lower back area.
His injury came at the wrong time for the Gunners as they lost momentum after that. Before the 2-0 win against Newcastle, the Gunners struggled to keep a clean sheet, which shows his importance to the side.
