After a string of impressive performances this season, tying William Saliba down to a new contract has shot to the top of the agenda for most Arsenal fans. Alongside Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli the Frenchman is seen as one of the stars of the Gunners project, and speaking earlier this week Mikel Arteta revealed that he and Edu are working on deals to keep the trio at the club.
"We have to plan for the future," the Spaniard said in his press conference ahead of Thursday's win over Bodo/Glimt. "We are all working on it, obviously Edu and all the board is on top of it and we will try to do things in the right way, being fair and trying to plan the best possible way to reward the players that, in our opinion, have a big future for the club. When we have something to announce, we will do that."
It's quite the turnaround for Saliba who at one stage appeared as though he may end up continuing his career elsewhere. The 21-year-old was left out of the squad list altogether after returning from an initial loan at St. Etienne in 2020 prompting many to question his future at the Arsenal. Speaking ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Liverpool, though Arteta claimed he never had any doubts.
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“No,” he said when asked. The pair are understood to have held talks over the summer and since that point Arteta has been thoroughly impressed with what he's seen from Saliba. "I was straight away really impressed the first few days when he got back in pre-season and we could see how much he had developed but obviously to put training sessions and friendly matches into this league, that is a completely different task," the Spaniard said. "Credit to the boy with the way that he has been handling the situation."
There had been some fears that Saliba could be on the cusp of leaving for a diminished fee this summer as he reached the final year of his initial deal. However, football.london understands that Arsenal have the option to trigger a one year extension on the French international's contract which strengthens their hand considerably. The Gunners remain in talks with Saliba's representatives, but when it comes to a time that fresh terms could be agreed, Arteta was vague in the update that he was willing to provide. “I don’t know," the Spaniard said. "When we have something to announce we will.”
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