David Seaman has admitted that he is ‘shocked’ to see how excellent William Saliba has been for Arsenal this season.
Saliba joined the Gunners for £27 million way back in 2019 but only made his senior debut for the club this season, in the victory at Crystal Palace on the first day of the campaign.
The former Saint-Etienne powerhouse has had a number of excellent loan spells back in Ligue 1, culminating in him playing for France before Arsenal.
This season, he is a mainstay in Mikel Arteta’s first XI, to the point where Ben White, who was outstanding alongside Gabriel in central defence last term, has been forced to play as a right-back.
Still only 21, Saliba clearly has a very bright future in football and Seaman, speaking to The Express, has lauded the towering defender.
He said: “It’s incredible what he’s been doing. Saliba has really shocked me because it just shows you how going out on loan works. He’s been out on loan for a few seasons, got really good experience and when you watch him now, you think he must be about 27 because he looks so confident.”
This is someone who Arsenal need to sign up to a new contract – and pronto.
Despite being only 21, it’s worth remembering that he’s been on the Emirates Stadium club’s books for three years.
He only has two years left on his existing contract and Arsenal need to extend it as soon as possible.
The higher he climbs, the more positive attention he’s going to attract from bigger clubs and considering it took three years to break into this Gunners’ squad, what incentive does the player have to stay?
It’s different with people like Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, who became stars in North London and therefore are more likely to extend their contracts beyond 2024.
But as mentioned, Saliba won his first cap for France before even making an appearance for Arsenal and therefore he might not have the same loyalty.
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