Ahead of Arsenal’s fixture against Newcastle, Mikel Arteta provided a contract update on centre-back William Saliba
On May 5th, Mikel Arteta addressed the media in a pre-match availability. He was questioned about if progress had been made between the club and William Saliba. The French international’s contract expires in a little over a year’s time. Given how important the defender has been to Arsenal’s season, fans are reasonably curious about his contract status.
Here is what Mikel Arteta had to say to the media:
"“We want to keep our best talent. Especially the players that deserve some recognition. I think [Saliba] has been incredible since he came back & we want to reward him, that is for sure. We will find the right moment to do that.”“Obviously Edu & the board are on top of every negotiation regarding new contracts & now we are doing everything we possibly can to do that at the right time. The communication & the relationship is super. It is about timing. Nothing else.”"
That sort of response from Mikel Arteta can only mean good news, even if there hasn’t been progress on a new contract yet. Given the Arsenal players will still have the full belief they can win the Premier League title, it makes zero sense to distract Saliba with contract terms and money.
William Saliba has been injured since mid-March but before that he started every single Premier League game for Arsenal. Despite signing for the club in 2019, this is Saliba’s first Premier League season. Saliba was loaned out for three consecutive seasons, all back to France with Ligue 1 sides. It was last season with Marseille where Saliba showed glimpses that he could return and be a star for Arsenal.
Saliba is not the only Arsenal player whose current contract is causing much discussion. As reported by The Top Flight, Reiss Nelson whose contract is up this summer looks likely to leave. Additionally, Jorginho, Elneny, Xhaka, and Holding will all see their contracts expire next summer should they not be renewed.