---
title: "Arsenal: Gunners could open contract talks with William Saliba"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/arsenal-william-saliba-contract-news-latest-rumours-arteta/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Will Seager"
section: "Arsenal News"
published: "2022-09-18T13:35:37Z"
modified: "2022-09-18T13:35:37Z"
---

# Arsenal: Gunners could open contract talks with William Saliba

**[Arsenal](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/arsenal-fc-news/) will want to hold contract talks with William Saliba after his fantastic start to the [Premier League](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premier-league-news/) season, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.**

### **The Lowdown: Saliba an Arsenal regular**

After [three loan spells](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/william-saliba/transfers/spieler/495666) away from north London, the 21-year-old has returned to the Emirates Stadium and has established himself as a mainstay in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.

The France international has [played every minute](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/william-saliba/leistungsdaten/spieler/495666) of Premier League football so far this season, a record he [maintained today](https://www.sofascore.com/brentford-arsenal/Rsab), having impressively averaged a [7.03 match rating](https://www.sofascore.com/player/william-saliba/941168) in his opening seven games in the English top-flight and [scored](https://www.sofascore.com/brentford-arsenal/Rsab) in this afternoon’s 3-0 win at Brentford.

### **The Latest: Contract talks**

According to [90min](https://www.90min.com/posts/arsenal-ready-to-tie-down-william-saliba-new-contract), Arsenal technical director Edu is keen to tie down Saliba with a new contract at the Emirates, following reports that fellow Gunners star [Bukayo Saka](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-bukayo-saka-contract-latest-27871512) is also close to extending his stay with the club.

O’Rourke believes that the defender is fully deserving of a new contract after a brilliant start to the season.

Speaking with [GiveMeSport](https://www.givemesport.com/88059909-arsenal-want-to-hold-contract-talks-with-27m-star-after-saka-at-emirates) about the French youngster, the journalist claimed: “I’m sure the club will want to sit down with him and discuss an improved contract as a reward for his progress.

“And I’m sure Saliba will just be hoping to concentrate on his football and see where the contract talks take him in the end. But I think he’ll be fully deserving of a new contract if that’s what Arsenal are planning to do.”

\[freshpress-poll id=”409502″\]

### **The Verdict: Huge potential**

When looking at the Frenchman’s underlying statistics, it is surprising to see such strong numbers going forward.

As per [FBRef](https://fbref.com/en/players/972aeb2a/William-Saliba), compared with positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year, the centre-back ranks in the top 1% for passes attempted, the top 3% for pass completion, the top 4% for dribbles completed and the top 5% for progressive carries.

\[freshpress-poll id=”409718″\]

As a result, Saliba has earned [stylistic comparisons](https://fbref.com/en/players/972aeb2a/William-Saliba) to the likes of Bayern Munich’s Lucas Hernandez and Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji.

Having been hailed as [‘superb’](https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/premier-league/2022-2023/superb-william-saliba-praised-by-mikel-arteta-after-gunners-2-0-win-over-crystal-palace_sto9075233/story.shtml) by Arteta himself, it would be no surprise to see the 21-year-old pen a new deal with the Gunners, with the player most definitely included in the manager’s long-term plans at the club judging by his abundant game-time of late.