Arsenal fans will love William Saliba's comments on Real Madrid transfer

William Saliba has asserted his desire to stay at Arsenal for the long haul amid interest from Real Madrid.

Saliba has blossomed into one of Europe's elite centre-backs in north London and his development has garnered the attention of the Spanish behemoths.

Madrid are sure to upgrade at centre-back this summer with Eder Militao suffering back-to-back ACL tears and David Alaba also recently returning from a long-term knee injury. Antonio Rudiger, like Alaba, is the wrong side of 30, but it does look like they've unearthed a gem in Raul Asencio.

There's been talk of the Champions League holders making Saliba their priority defensive target this summer, but only an obscene fee will draw Arsenal to the negotiating table. Moreover, the player's latest comments suggest he won't be pushing for a move away from north London anytime soon.

William Saliba is solely focused on winning at Arsenal

Speaking in Tuesday's pre-match press conference ahead of PSV's visit (via the Daily Mail), Saliba was asked by a reporter to ease supporters' fears regarding the new contract he's yet to sign: “I am really happy here at Arsenal. I have two-and-a-half years on my contract and I want to continue here.

“I want to win big things with Arsenal. If you leave this club and you don’t win anything, then the fans will forget about you. I wanna win here," he added.

Saliba's comments will doubtlessly put smiles on the faces of supporters, who have loved watching him dominate for the past couple of years. The 23-year-old appreciated the Sergio Ramos comparisons which were brought up on Tuesday (although they were the first I'd heard of them!), as he regards the Madrid icon as "probably the best [defender] in history".

Saliba's been a constant in Mikel Arteta's starting XI since he was integrated into the Spaniard's set-up after a couple of loans in France, and many believed Arsenal would've strolled to the 2022/23 Premier League title hadn't he suffered a back injury which ruled him out of the run-in.

Arteta's project has reached a critical juncture, and it's hard to imagine the process without the 23-year-old. The Gunners are so close, and retaining Saliba is absolutely imperative. One of Andrea Berta's first tasks as sporting director will be getting the French international to extend his contract so we avoid the sort of situation which has unfolded at Liverpool this season involving Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Mohamed Salah. Nobody wants ambiguity.

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