Even seen with Norwegian eyes, we cannot ignore the fact that Arsenal’s most important player is the 23-year-old centre-back William Saliba.
Real Madrid, who made the mistake of selling Martin Ødegaard cheaply to Arsenal, are going for the transfer that English experts believe will be a huge blow to Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal have cemented second place in the Premier League after victory over Wolverhampton at Molineux Stadium on Saturday and Nottingham Forest’s heavy loss at the Vitality Stadium to Bournemouth.
The Spanish giants will need to improve their defensive options, amid persistent injury concerns for Eder Militao and David Alaba. Fichajes writes it is a priority for Los Blancos to sign a top-quality central defender.
Real Madrid’s main target is William Saliba and they are willing to pay big money to lure him away from North London.
Saliba has established himself as one of the world’s best defenders for the past three seasons.
Last month, however, Saliba reiterated his commitment to Arsenal. Saliba said, “Yes, of course, I feel at home. I signed for the club five years ago, but it’s only my third season and I’m enjoying everything – the players, the staff and the fans. I feel at home so of course, why not?”
Arsenal icons and opposition players agree on how good William Saliba is.
In fact, Virgil van Dijk, who some consider to be the best defender in the world, admitted that he was “nowhere near” as good as the Frenchman when he was his age.
Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Van Dijk said: “Of course, Saliba is taking very good steps at the moment. He’s the first one I just have in mind now. He’s a solid one. I think in possession, he’s doing a great job.”
When asked by Ferdinand if Saliba reminded Van Dijk of himself, the Liverpool defender added: “Yes, maybe. I think, to be honest, when I was that age, I wasn’t anywhere near where he was today. Obviously, that’s the beauty of football as well.”
Meanwhile, former Arsenal star Thomas Vermaelen told the Arsenal website last year: “He’s a great player. He’s got everything a modern defender needs – he’s fast, he’s a good defender, he’s good on the ball.
“He also has a great partnership with Gabriel, which is very important. They do a fantastic job.”
