Arsenal’s focus again turns to the Champions League this week after the disappointment of defeat to Bournemouth in the Premier League over the weekend.
While that loss did not help them confirm their place in next season’s competition, winning this year’s tournament would ensure that, regardless. Aside from what would be a historic success for the club, such an achievement would be the strongest statement of their standing within the European market.
That would impact the standard of potential signings and even the futures of several current players. Here is a round-up of rumours from over the weekend that this week’s second leg could affect.
The Gunners have offered the France international a contract extension and are trying to convince him that he can win trophies in north London.
Saliba has only registered two Community Shields at Arsenal with the club finishing as Premier League runners-up in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Arsenal are currently refusing to even set a price tag for their superstar centre-back, under contract at the Emirates until the summer of 2027.
But Saliba has ‘always maintained a special bond’ with Real Madrid, which he regards as ‘the highest level attainable’.
If Saliba refuses to sign a new deal at Arsenal in the next year or so, it will leave the north Londoners more or less doomed over the player’s future.
That’s because Saliba will enter the final 12 months of his Arsenal contract in the summer of 2026, which would put Real Madrid in a much better negotiating position as they could then land him for far less money.
Therefore, it may make more sense for Arsenal to cash in now and reinvest in a new defender instead of giving Saliba the chance to run down his deal.
It’s unlikely that Real Madrid are going to give up on a move for Saliba given they’ve been tracking him since his Saint-Etienne days in Ligue 1.
Saliba has played 131 games for Arsenal to date and has formed a key partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes in the heart of the Gunners’ defence.
He has been named in the Professional Footballers’ Association Premier League Team of the Year for the last two seasons in a row.
Saliba is hoping to help Arsenal win the Champions League this term but they face an uphill battle ahead of their semi-final second leg against PSG having lost 1-0 at home in the first meeting.