Arsenal star William Saliba has reached an agreement with the Gunners over a new contract and now looks set to stay at the Emirates until at least the summer of 2027.
While the Frenchman is yet to put pen to paper just yet, both parties are reportedly happy with the terms of the proposed deal and the contract is likely to be signed within the next two to three weeks. In the eyes of many members of the Arsenal faithful, this is the most important piece of business the club could have done this summer.
There were mounting fears Saliba's long-term future would be away from north London. Prior to news of the imminent extension, the centre-back had just one year left to run on his deal and was attracting interest from the biggest clubs on the continent.
Both of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have been linked with Saliba in recent months, as a result of his sensational debut campaign at the heart of the Gunners defence.
This latest update on his future also means boss Mikel Arteta has managed to keep his word after he declared how Arsenal were aiming to maintain all of their young stars.
Last month, the Gunners manager explained: "We want to keep our best talent. Especially the players that deserve some recognition.
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"I think he [Saliba] has been incredible since he came back from his loan period and we want to reward him, that is for sure. We will find the right moment to do that."
There have long been question marks over the state of Arteta's relationship with Saliba, given it took the France international three seasons on loan at Saint-Etienne, OGC Nice and Marseille respectively before he made his competitive Arsenal debut.
However, things have cleary worked out given Saliba is ready to pledge his long-term future to a club securing all of their young stars one by one.
Brazilian duo Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli were the first to sign new deals earlier this year, before goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale followed suit.
It was essential to everyone associated with Arsenal that main man Bukayo Saka saw the Emirates as the place to be and thankfully for those of a Gunners persusaion he too signed a new deal just before the conclusion of the campaign.
Saliba emerging as the latest ready to do the same puts Arsenal in a fantastic position ahead of their first pre-season where ambitions have shifted and the title is now the aim next term after missing out to the might of Manchester City last season.
