'Everything is done': Sky Sports journalist drops exciting Arsenal player update

Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has provided an exciting update involving Arsenal and William Saliba.

He told GiveMeSport that the Gunners have agreed everything in principle over a contract extension.

Saliba and Arsenal have been engaging in talks over a new deal for some time.

The French centre-back’s existing deal was due to end in 2024.

However, Saliba now looks set to add another three years onto his stay in north London.

It has also been reported that the 22-year-old will be earning £200,000-a-week once he puts pen to paper.

When asked whether Saliba was likely to agree on a new deal with Arsenal, Sheth said: “I think so. It’s all agreed in principle.

“What’s left now is the physical signing of the contract, the dotting the I’s and crossing the t’s. I think everything is done.”

Our view

Saliba’s rise to prominence last season was three years in the making.

The Frenchman joined Arsenal from Saint-Etienne for around £27million back in 2019.

Although he was on the Gunners’ books, he spent his first season back at his former club.

He then spent 18 months back in France across two further loan spells at Nice and Marseille.

This led to a considerable amount of Arsenal fans criticising Mikel Arteta for seemingly not giving him a chance.

However, Arteta was playing the long game, and when he made his Gunners debut, he was definitely up to speed.

He impressed in his Arsenal bow against Crystal Palace last year and quickly became a first-team regular.

Indeed, when Saliba suffered an injury late last season, the Gunners’ Premier League title challenge collapsed.

Arsenal will need to bolster their defensive ranks this summer anyway, as they’ll be fighting on four fronts.

However, securing a new contract for Saliba is a huge boost and hopefully they can keep building.