Mikel Arteta has confirmed he expects William Saliba’s new Arsenal contract to be announced soon, praising the defender for his conduct in the face of transfer interest from Real Madrid.
It emerged earlier this week that Saliba has agreed the terms of a lucrative extension with Arsenal, finally putting an end to an ambitious pursuit from Real Madrid which has included speculation of record transfer bids and even a battle to land him on a free transfer in 2027.
Saliba had publicly expressed his desire to stay with Arsenal beyond the terms of his current deal, and Arteta admitted the 24-year-old had always taken the same stance behind the scenes during their private talks about Madrid’s interest.
“I was quite direct with him, because when you hear that noise—you can understand, players have feelings,” he told a press conference. “At the end, players have feelings, players have been educated in their families, maybe they are dreaming about something one day, and that’s a really natural thing to have.
“When I sat down with William, I asked him the question. He said, ‘No, I want to stay here, I want to play for you and I’m very happy’.”
Asked whether those conversations revolved around Madrid specifically, Arteta added: “In general, I didn’t want to be specific, but it was obvious with the amount of noise there was around certain clubs. We didn’t have to name many teams, but there are not that many that can come and get Willy out from us and him being happy to discuss it. He was clear and so transparent and honest from the beginning.”
