William Saliba and Mikel Arteta (Photo by Alex Pantling, Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Arsenal need their new sporting director to come in as soon as possible so they can deal with William Saliba’s future, according to Charles Watts.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Watts made it clear that although Arsenal don’t want to sell Saliba to Real Madrid, they could do with sorting out a new contract for the France international soon.
Saliba has been a hugely important player for the Gunners in the last few years, and it’s not too surprising to see a big name like Real Madrid being linked with the talented 23-year-old.
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Arsenal have a promising project, though, and keeping Saliba will surely be a big part of helping Mikel Arteta finally land some major silverware with the north London giants.
One problem for the moment, however, is that Edu recently left Arsenal and a new full time replacement hasn’t been appointed yet, which could be slowing down contract renewals.
Arsenal want to keep William Saliba, says Charles Watts
Still, there’s no doubt that selling Saliba is not part of Arsenal’s plan, according to Watts, who says a new director will surely come in and make fixing this one of his priorities.
“Any Arsenal fan who lived through the Patrick to Vieira to Real Madrid saga will be getting flashbacks every time they hear or read the links between William Saliba and the Spanish champions,” Watts said.
“They have emerged from time to time this season and this week we once again heard, this time from media in France, that Madrid had identified the Arsenal centre-back as a priority target for the summer window.
“They are nothing new and they are going to continue because of course Madrid will be interested in Saliba, every top club in Europe will be. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
“Arsenal do not want to lose Saliba. That’s not exactly a secret.
“He’s already one of the best defenders in the world despite being just 23 and he’s only going to get better as he continues to develop over the next few years.
“So the crucial thing in this story is how talks go over a new contract.
“Saliba will have two years left on his current deal at the end of the season and that puts Arsenal in a bit of a tricky position.
“Once you get beyond that point things do always become a little nervy because a player’s value will start to drop as their contract gets towards the final year and the club’s position starts to weaken.
“So this summer will be very important and it’s why Arsenal have to get their new sporting director in place quickly so that he can get to grips with the situation.”
