William Saliba and Mikel Arteta d’Arsenal (Photo by Yong Teck Lim, Harry Murphy / Getty Images)
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta opened its doors to find out if he felt nerves during talks with William Saliba on his future.
The French international should sign a new contract with the Gunners, in what is obviously a huge boost for the club and an excellent work by sports director Andrea Berta.
Arteta, speaking during his press conference on Friday, however, also admitted that he would have questioned the entire project Si Saliba did not want to stay.
The Spanish tactician is happy that it never happened, but it seems that he had concerns about the Saliba situation when he was not resolved.
Look below for Arteta’s response during his press conference …
? Mikel Arteta discusses if he became “nervous” at the idea of keeping William Saliba…? pic.twitter.com/44hdtdm0eg
– Kingingoffside (@caughtoffside) September 26, 2025
Mikel Arteta on William Saliba staying in Arsenal
“What we want is to have our best players,” he said.
Asked about the “nerves” by treating saliba, he added: “I don’t know if these are the right words.
“What you hope is that when you decide that you want to extend the player’s contract and life with the club, they feel the same.
“If suddenly you think it does not happen, I think you have to question the whole process again. Because I don’t think it’s a good starting point for everything you want to build.
“We didn’t have to go because he was very clear, Willie, that he wanted to stay with us.”
Saliba has been one of the best Arsenal players since he entered the first team of the 2022/23 season, forming a solid central defensive partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes.
Losing the 24 -year -old would have been a hard blow that would undoubtedly have been very difficult to recover, so the fans and all the people involved in Arsenal will be delighted that he is ready to extend his stay at the Emirates stadium.
