Given the way William Saliba has performed for Arsenal, it always felt like a question of when and not if transfer links over a move to Real Madrid would start.
Saliba has developed from a promising youngster into one of the best centre-backs in the world and he was named in the Team of the Tournament at Euro 2024 last summer following his excellent displays for France.
The 23-year-old has now emerged as a reported target for Real Madrid and that is hardly surprising given their recent track record in the transfer market.
The era of the ‘Galacticos’ is not completely over, as demonstrated by the signing of Kylian Mbappe, but Real have shown a desire to create stars and not just buy them.
Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Vinicius Junior were all bought with that in mind, while 18-year-old Endrick looks like he will tread the same path.
For Arsenal, the looming presence of Real Madrid around Saliba could be intimidating - not least because he will have two years left on his contract next summer.
In recent years, that has been the time Arsenal have liked to tie down their players, clearly wary of past issues involving the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
A new executive team is in place since those days and they have impressively tied down the core of this Arsenal squad, with Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard joining Saliba in signing a new contract last year.
Arsenal should have confidence in their ability to keep Saliba out of Real Madrid’s hand, certainly in the immediate future at least.
His career is blossoming under Arteta and he has formed a formidable centre-back partnership with Gabriel. The pair have developed a close friendship, chatting in French and Portuguese, and both have the other to thank for their rise.
Saliba is a boyhood Arsenal fan and settled in London. After a difficult start to life at the club, where he had three different loan spells, he has become a mainstay and was one of only three outfield players to not miss a minute of Premier League football last season.
At Arsenal, Saliba is part of what many believe, including most recently Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique, is the best defence in Europe.
Arteta’s youthful project is coming into its peak and Saka has already publicly spoken about how the squad believe this is their year in the title race.
A tilt at the Champions League should not be ruled out either given the Gunners made the quarter-finals last season after a six-year hiatus.
The temptation of Real Madrid is obvious and it is easy to see how Saliba would slot in given his style of play as a youngster drew comparisons to Raphael Varane.
Arsenal, though, will feel right now they have as good a chance as ever to keep hold of Saliba.
At 23, he still has plenty of years left in his career and right now he is at the heart of a project that looks on the cusp of winning silverware.
Now doesn’t feel like the moment to walk away from that.
