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Arsenal convinced William Saliba into signing a new contract and extending his stay long-term. Truth be told, he didn't need much convincing, as he's already brought into Mikel Arteta's long-term plan at Arsenal.
As great as this news is, fans haven't even got to the crux of it. This is a deal that is bound to have a huge ripple effect not just at Arsenal and not just in the Premier League, but across Europe too.
In a roundabout kind of way, Arsenal convincing William Saliba to stay in North London is an Arsenal win that will soon become Liverpool's loss.
Arsenal's William Saliba win is about to become Liverpool's big loss
Real Madrid will not be able to sign William Saliba, at least for the next few years. But Real Madrid will not give up on signing a defender, they'll just move their attention elsewhere. It's not the first time that Real Madrid has been thrown a curveball, and it won't be the last.
So, Real Madrid won't look at Arsenal, but they'll instead look at Liverpool. If they can't sign William Saliba, they will push twice as hard to sign Ibrahima Konaté.
Real Madrid already has a registered interest in William Saliba's countryman at Liverpool. With only this season remaining on his deal, it's a much more financially viable deal for Real Madrid, and they already know they can convince players to leave Liverpool for the football capital. That was proven by Trent's summer move.
Since Arsenal is in direct competition with Liverpool these days, it's excellent news. Another club weakening their main league rivals' defense for them will certainly be welcomed at Arsenal.
Arsenal has improved as much as they can in many ways, however, they're now in competition with Liverpool and Man City, who have done the exact same thing. Therefore, any way that their title rivals can be weakened will only benefit Arsenal.
And losing Konaté would certainly be a big blow for Liverpool, no matter which way you look at it. Sure, his start to the season has been questionable, but everybody knows how important he's been to Liverpool in the past, and how important he could be going forward.
If Konaté leaves this season, then it sets Liverpool back a few steps. With a lack of great defenders on the market, that could prove to be troublesome for Liverpool, but beneficial for Arsenal.