Arsenal set to offer high class defender new contract

Arsenal are set to offer a new contract to on loan defender William Saliba ahead of the next season. 

Saliba has been on loan in Ligue 1 since joining Arsenal permanently from Saint-Etienne in 2019, returning to the club on loan for the season before subsequent loans to Nice and Marseille were also agreed for the Frenchman.

According to football.london, Arsenal will review the situation at the end of this season before deciding whether to offer him a fresh deal.

The 20-year-old’s current contract runs until 2024, and considering Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is expected to allow on loan stars Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Hector Bellerin to go permanently in the summer, Saliba could be in with a good chance of finally making his long-awaited competitive Arsenal debut some time next season.

Arsenal, at this stage of the campaign, are all but nailed on to earn a spot in Europe next season, with a strong possibility of this being in the form of a Champions League spot via a top four finish.

Saliba has impressed while on loan with Marseille this season. He ranks in the top five for pass completion and in the top three for progressive distance, showcasing his cultured ball-playing ability.

His defensive stats are strong too considering the team he plays in will typically see a higher share of the ball than the average.

This being said one metric which might be a tad worrying is his aerial duel win percentage. Sitting at just 58.3% in a league with no where close to the physicality of the Premier League might be a cause for concern to some, especially considering former Southampton defender Jose Fonte has won 78% of his aerial duels.

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