William Saliba has distanced himself from rumours of a possible big-money move to Real Madrid, stressing that he ‘feels at home’ at Arsenal.
The 23-year-old Frenchman has established himself as one of the finest central defenders in European football over the last two seasons and has twice been named in the PFA Team of the Year.
This term, Saliba has started all but one of Arsenal’s 14 opening games in the Premier League, with the club sitting third in the table behind leaders Liverpool and Chelsea.
However, there has been mounting speculation that Madrid have been keeping close tabs on Saliba and could look to prise the centre-back away from the Emirates.
Madrid have been hit by injuries to Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal, who have both been ruled out of the remainder of the season, and the La Liga giants are determined to strengthen at the back when the January transfer window opens for business.
But it appears Los Blancos will have to consider other avenues away from Saliba for the time being, with the France international seemingly committed to the Gunners for the foreseeable future.
Asked whether he sees himself staying at Arsenal for the long haul, Saliba told The Mirror: ‘Yeah 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?’
Saliba is confident that Arsenal remain serious title challengers, with Mikel Arteta’s men able to close the gap on top-of-the-table Liverpool to just four points at Fulham this afternoon.
‘Everything is possible. The season is very long and we’ve experienced that in the past two years,’ he added.
‘We just have to focus on ourselves, we are still only in December so there are still a lot of things that can happen.
Saliba’s current contract in north London runs through to the summer of 2027. The former Saint-Etienne centre-half is in line to make his 102nd appearance at Craven Cottage.
The likes of Vitor Reis, Jonathan Tah, Castello Lukeba, Aymeric Laporte and Virgil van Dijk – who is out of contract at Liverpool next summer – have also been linked with Madrid in recent weeks.
While Carlo Ancelotti has refused to be drawn into speculation regarding specific targets for January, the Italian is pushing for defensive additions to provide cover in the absence of Militao and Carvajal.
‘After the game against Sevilla in December we will consider what to do during the winter transfer window,’ the Madrid head coach told reporters earlier this month.
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