‘Initial discussions’ – Transfer insider drops big in-house Arsenal news on £40k-p/w ‘monster’
The Gunners paid £27m to sign the centre-back from Saint-Etienne in the summer of 2019 and loaned him back to the French club for the following season. He then spent the second half of the 2020/21 campaign with Nice, before a season-long stint with Marseille last term.
The Frenchman has finally broken into the starting line-up at his parent club, with Mikel Arteta selecting him for the Gunners’ first seven Premier League matches of the current campaign.
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said that negotiations over a contract extension are underway and that an agreement on fresh terms seems to be ‘on the horizon’.
He said of Saliba’s Arsenal future: “There have been some initial discussions about a longer deal. I don’t think the terms of that deal have been detailed just yet, but it is certainly one on the horizon.”
It’s no surprise that Arsenal are already working to tie down Saliba to new terms. Currently taking home a reported £40,000 per week, he is one of the lowest earners in the Gunners’ first-team squad, but that doesn’t reflect his contribution to the team’s success right now.
In terms of expected goals against per 90, Arsenal boast the second-best defensive record in the Premier League behind Manchester City, and Saliba has been a big part of that.
He is yet to be dribbled past in the league this season and has won 63% of his ground duels (via SofaScore). Furthermore, no Arsenal outfielder can better his average of three accurate long passes per game, which shows that he very much contributes in possession too.
He has been called ‘amazing‘ by team-mate Granit Xhaka and a ‘monster‘ by France youth coach Jean-Luc Vannuchi.
With Arsenal also working to tie down Bukayo Saka to a new deal, there could be some exciting contract announcements on the horizon at the Emirates Stadium.
