Arsenal have made a new contract offer to William Saliba after his brilliant start to the new season, according to David Ornstein.
The Gunners have made an excellent start to the season, winning ten of their opening 12 fixtures, and sitting top of the Premier League summit.
After spending around £118m again this summer on Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira and others, there was pressure at the beginning of the season for Mikel Arteta to deliver.
Saliba has been like a bonus summer signing after returning from a very successful loan spell at Marseille, which saw him named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year.
And he has kept up his impressive performances this season in an Arsenal shirt, playing all 12 Premier League matches and contributing two goals and an assist.
With uncertainty over whether he would play a starting role at the Emirates Stadium this season, there was speculation over the summer that the Frenchman could seek a way out of the club.
Saliba has helped Arsenal to keep eight clean sheets across 17 matches in all competitions this season, with only 14 conceded, and now the Gunners want to reward him with a new deal.
The Athletic journalist Ornstein claims that ‘early talks have since turned into formal negotiations and Arsenal have now made an offer’ to Saliba.
Ornstein adds: ‘There is no agreement so far but the dialogue will continue, as the north London side try to tie down a player who appears fundamental to Arteta’s team and has many admirers across Europe.’
The 21-year-old – who has earned all of his seven caps for France this year – has a contract which runs until the end of this season but the Gunners have the option to extend his deal for a further 12 months.
Jesus is another player to have a successful debut season for Arsenal with the Brazilian adding another two assists to his tally on Sunday in their 5-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
That takes his total to five assists and five goals in 12 Premier League appearances this term and he’s already attracting interest from elsewhere.
Jesus joined from defending Premier League champions Manchester City for £45m in the summer transfer window and now Spanish publication Fichajes insist that he’s already a target for Real Madrid.
The report claims that you ‘cannot rule out’ Real Madrid making a move for Jesus next summer and that the Arsenal forward ‘could be the chosen one’ for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
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