Arsenal To Offer William Saliba New Contract As Club Identify New Role For Frenchman

Arsenal have confirmed to William Saliba that the club plan on extending his contract.

Saliba's signed his current deal back in 2019 for five years as a teenager hoping to break into the first team, however Mikel Arteta has placed a new level of importance on the defender, meaning he should be rewarded for his responsibilities.

The 20-year-old French defender's future has been the cause of much speculation over the past year, with an impressive loan spell at Marseille last season earning him the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Season award.

With the World Cup approaching at the end of this year, Saliba is hoping for as many first team opportunities as possible.

It was thought Saliba would join Marseille on a permanent deal alongside midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, however both the player and Arteta have recently confirmed their intention of keeping him at Arsenal.

“He has to come back," Arteta previously told reporters. "He has the experience and the necessary environment to be competitive with us.

"If he had stayed with us this year, with one Premier League game a week and with Ben White and Gabriel, he wouldn’t have had half the game time he had with Marseille, that’s for sure.”

“In terms of his growth and what he could do next year it wouldn’t have been good. William wasn’t with us because he wouldn’t have had the playing time required to gain experience. That’s it, nothing else.”

French newspaper L'Equipe now report that Saliba is set to be rewarded by Arsenal with a new contract as they look to tie down his long term future.

Arsenal defenders Ben White and Gabriel managed to strike up a solid partnership last season, but with Europa League football now back at the Emirates, a bigger squad is needed and there will be plenty of room for opportunities.