Arsenal just need a £27m star to put pen to paper after a verbal agreement on a new contract at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal centre-back William Saliba just needs to put pen to paper after agreeing to a new contract at the Emirates Stadium, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has exclusively told GIVEMESPORT.
Mikel Arteta will look to tie down his best players to long-term deals as he prepares for the Gunners’ first Champions League campaign since 2017 next season.
Arsenal contract news – William Saliba
According to Sky Sports, Saliba has agreed in principle on a new deal at Arsenal, seeing him extend his stay at the Emirates until at least the summer of 2027.
The 22-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in north London, initially arriving at the club in a £27m deal from Saint-Etienne in 2019.
But the Frenchman’s £40,000 per-week contract was due to expire in 12 months, which could have left Arsenal with no choice but to try and cash in on the talented defender during the current transfer window.
The colossus’ agreement to a new deal will come as a relief to the Gunners after Manchester United and Bayern Munich had a reported interest in the centre-back, as per journalist Fabrice Hawkins.
Journalist Dean Jones has recently suggested to GIVEMESPORT that Arsenal will be “popping champagne” at Saliba’s contract extension, having secured the future of one of Arteta’s key players.
And Romano has claimed that “everything is okay” with Saliba’s contract and is just a case of concluding the formalities.
What has Romano said about Arsenal and Saliba?
Romano told GIVEMESPORT: “For Saliba, it’s just a matter of signing the contract, but everything is okay. Saliba will sign his new deal until 2027 with Arsenal. This is a really important one for Arsenal.”
How important has Saliba been for Arsenal?
Arsenal will feel that their Premier League title challenge began to falter following Saliba’s season-ending back injury, suffered in their Europa League last-16 defeat at the hands of Sporting Lisbon in March.
The eight-cap France international had made 27 Premier League appearances for the Gunners up to that point, scoring two goals and providing one assist whilst helping the north London side keep 12 clean sheets.
However, his injury coincided with the side sacrificing a five-point lead to eventual champions Manchester City, with the club’s wait for a first league title since 2004 extending.
And Saliba made use of his opportunities in the team, achieving a solid WhoScored rating of 6.77 for his displays in the top flight, winning 1.3 tackles per game in the process.
The 6 foot 4 star’s ability on the ball compared favourably with his positional peers, ranking in the top 7% of centre-backs across Europe’s big five leagues as well as the Champions League and Europa League for passes success rate (91.1%) and top 8% for passes attempted per 90 minutes (71.73) over the last 365 days, as per FBref.
Therefore, Arteta will be delighted to have waded off interest in Saliba’s signature as the Gunners look ahead to an exciting 2023/24 campaign.
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