William Saliba has agreed terms on a new five-year contract at Arsenal.
Saliba has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best centre-backs during his time at the club, featuring in all 38 top-flight games in the 2023/24 campaign and missing only three matches last season.
The 24-year-old centre-back had entered the final two years of his contract but is due to commit to the Gunners until June 2030.
The Frenchman is set to join fellow defender Gabriel Magalhaes plus academy products Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly in committing to new Arsenal contracts in 2025.
Saliba has been contracted to Arsenal since the summer of 2019 but had to wait three years until his competitive debut at the start of the 2022/23 season. Since then, he has made 139 appearances in all competitions, scoring seven goals.
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Arsenal defender William Saliba spoke about his contract situation during the Gunners’ pre-season tour of Asia
Analysis: Arsenal locking down successful defence
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta had three huge contracts to negotiate upon arriving in north London earlier this year: Gabriel, Saliba and Bukayo Saka’s contracts were all due to expire in 2027.
Now it’s a case of two down, one to go.
Saliba has joined Gabriel in committing to a new deal which means Arsenal are safeguarding their biggest asset: their defence.
Saliba has formed a formidable partnership with Gabriel
There was always a risk regarding Saliba’s old contract situation – especially with whispers of Real Madrid’s interest. But that defensive security is something Arsenal have over Liverpool, who face an uncertain future with Ibrahima Konate.
That Saliba-Gabriel centre-back pairing has been a huge part of Arsenal’s success. Since it began in August 2022, Mikel Arteta’s side have become regular title contenders.
That looks set to continue this season. Arsenal’s backline have kept clean sheets in five out of their seven games this season – only Liverpool and Manchester City have managed to purge the backline. Erling Haaland’s opener at the Emirates on Sunday is the only goal the Gunners have conceded from open play all term.
When one of them is missing, Arsenal look a different team defensively. That is definitely the case in terms of Arsenal’s Premier League record without Saliba, with the Gunners conceding goals at twice the rate when he is absent.
Since his debut, no Premier League defender has won more balls in the middle third of the pitch or kept more clean sheets than that Frenchman, while he also ranks second for ball recoveries.
The good thing for Arsenal this season is they seem to have found a perfect back-up for him in Cristhian Mosquera. Saliba’s minutes can be managed this term. We may be about to see the best of him.
