Arsenal are in a very strange situation at the moment.
Barring a minor miracle, it looks like the Gunners won’t be winning the league title this season, and they look set for their third-consecutive year in that second-place spot.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 2 | 26 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 51 | 23 | 28 | 53 |
In that time, Arsenal also haven’t won any other major silverware.
Arsenal are getting a reputation as nearly men, and, often, when that happens, players start to question their futures.
Indeed, Harry Kane left Tottenham after years of falling short when chasing big trophies, while Arsenal have been here before with Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas leaving for similar reasons.
Some of Arsenal’s current star players may be in a similar position right now, and speaking on the Wrighty’s House Podcast, Ian Wright has shared worries that William Saliba may be in that sort of position soon.

William Saliba could get Real Madrid move
Wright urged Arsenal to be careful with William Saliba.
Saliba is the best defender in the world according to some, and Real Madrid have been linked with Saliba recently.
Wright believes that Madrid could come in for the defender and that Arsenal need to make some big signings to convince the £27m man to stick with the project.
“Let’s wait and see who they get in the summer. Let’s wait and see. I know the manager’s signed again, but let’s wait and see because if they’re not going to get the kind of players that’s going to take us to the next step, and there’s people like, look at Saliba. Real Madrid will take him tomorrow.
“Why would he not wait and see what’s going on in the summer to see the kind of players and the calibre of player we’re signing? Because this is what I think the people upstairs need to be careful of.”
Arseanl stars who left for La Liga
Wright is spot on, one of the big boys could come in for Saliba, and Arsenal know that only too well.
Indeed, while Real Madrid don’t often come in for Arsenal’s star players, over the years, their El Classico rivals, Barcelona, have made a habit of pinching some of Arsenal’s best players.
Barcelona went on a real spree of signing Arsenal’s top stars at one point, while Madrid also took Nicolas Anelka from the Gunners back in the day.
| Arsenal stars who left for La Liga | Team joined |
|---|---|
| Thierry Henry | Barcelona |
| Cesc Fabregas | Barcelona |
| Thomas Vermaelen | Barcelona |
| Emmanuel Petit | Barcelona |
| Alex Hleb | Barcelona |
| Alex Song | Barcelona |
| Marc Overmars | Barcelona |
| Nicolas Anelka | Real Madrid |
The lure of La Liga will be there for a lot of players due to how historic and huge Barcelona and Real Madrid are as footballing institutions, and Saliba may well be tempted to make that move as well.
Of course, Arsenal do still have time to turn things around, the title race looks to be over, but the Champions League is still up for grabs, and, as Wright says, an ambitious summer transfer window could send a message to their top stars.
Arsenal want Alexander Isak this summer, and perhaps that’s the type of signing that would convince a player like Saliba to stay.
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