William Saliba has admitted he signed a new Arsenal contract because he wants to “win a lot of trophies” amid long-standing interest from Real Madrid.
The French centre-back signed a new five-year deal at the Emirates Stadium to extend his stay at the club until the summer of 2030. The 24-year-old’s existing contract was set to expire in the summer of 2027, with Los Blancos keeping a close eye on proceedings.
Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Olympiacos on Wednesday night, Saliba explained why Arsenal were the only club for him. He said: “To be honest, I was not thinking about clubs from the outside. I wanted to stay here for more years. I was not focused on the other clubs. I’m focused on my club.”
Saliba was also asked why he snubbed Real Madrid when Trent Alexander-Arnold, a boyhood Liverpool fan, left the club he loves to join Los Blancos because of their lure. He replied: “He won some titles with Liverpool, with me I didn’t win anything here except the Community Shield.
“I want to stay here and win a lot of trophies. I love this club, I couldn’t leave this club without giving something back, I’ve won nothing. I want to stay here and win.”
Saliba is the latest big contract renewal that Andrea Berta has overseen since joining the club, with Gabriel Magalhaes, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly all signing fresh terms this summer.
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Mikel Arteta was asked about Saliba signing a contract extension during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “Big news, very happy,” the Spaniard said.
“Congratulations to Willy, he fully deserves this new contract, his contribution to the club, to the team has been phenomenal the last few years and I’m very happy to keep the spine of the team with us.”
He added: “Probably more than the length of the contract is the will of the player, you know, because you can understand that some players have a dream, some of them is to play in the Premier League, some of them is to play in the Premier League for Arsenal, another one can be to play in a different country for a different club so you have to respect that.
“I think we’ve been really, really lucky. But as well it shows the power of this football club and how much people loves it and wants to come here that none of that is happening.”
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