Arsenal confident William Saliba will stay amidst Real Madrid’s growing interest: Report

NEW DELHI: Arsenal are confident their strong defensive backline, which they have curated under Mikel Arteta’s tenure as head coach, will remain intact after reports suggested that Real Madrid are showing heavy interest in procuring the services of William Saliba.

William Saliba, who has made his case for being one of the top defenders in Europe, has no intentions of leaving Arsenal, especially after he signed a four-year contract extension in 2023, according to a report by British outlet Daily Express.

Real Madrid are currently heavily depleted, with recurring injuries seeming to be the theme of the season. Apart from the side having suffered the absence of both Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe for a short period of time, they lack serious depth in defence.

Carvajal's recent ACL injury, which will rule him out for the remainder of the season, the club is also missing the services of David Alaba, who has suffered a Cruciate Ligament Tear in December 2023 and Eder Militao, who suffered the same injury as Alaba and has moved in and out of the squad since last season.

With all injuries putting a burden on the thin, stretched defensive lineup, one of the pillars of the Real Madrid backline, Antonio Rudiger further stirred speculations of Real Madrid's interest in William Saliba after the former Chelsea defender heaped praise on the Arsenal defender when asked who would be his ideal defensive partner on a podcast.

"Saliba, and I like Gabriel from Arsenal as well. If you see Arsenal, like the two centre-backs who are playing together, they are doing it for two years now, they're doing an amazing job. Like the transformation from Arsenal, that was a bit before and now, and those two are the pillars of it.

"You have with Gabriel the more aggressive leader and for example, Saliba is, this brother plays clean. No, really, you have to give it to him. You know, he looks like a silent leader," said Rudiger on The Inside Scoop podcast.

Arsenal signed an 18 year-old Saliba from French side Saint-Etienne in the 2019/20 season on a long-term deal for 27 million pounds and immediately loaned him back to the side they bought him from on a season-long agreement.

Upon his return to the side, the Gunners sent the young defender to OGC Nice for the remainder of the 2020/21 season during the winter transfer window in January 2021. Afetr his return Mikel Arteta side, he was once again sent on a season long loan to Marseille for the 2021/22 season, a decision that was heavily criticised at the time, where Saliba won the Ligue 1 young player of the season.

Since returning from Marseille, Saliba has solidified his position as one of the top defenders in the league and formed one of the most solid defensive partnerships in Europe with Gabriel Magalhaes.

--IANS

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