William Saliba has revealed to Mirror Football that he wants to stay at Arsenal long-term
William Saliba has pledged his future to Arsenal - while also insisting the Gunners can catch Liverpool at the Premier League summit.
The colossal Frenchman, who has formed a fundamental part of Mikel Arteta's rip-roaring Gunners revolution and netted in the 2-0 triumph over Manchester United on Wednesday, believes there is simply no place like home.
And when quizzed on whether he envisages staying in north London for the long haul, the 23-year-old did not hesitate to reaffirm his commitment to the club amid reported interest from Real Madrid.
Saliba said: "Yeah of course, I feel at home. I signed for the club five years ago but it's only my third season and I'm enjoying everything - the players, the staff and the fans. I feel at home so of course, why not?"
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The imperious central defender also remains optimistic the Gunners can hunt down Arne Slot's pace-setting Reds, who did not play this weekend following the postponement of the Merseyside derby, after his second-half goal in midweek helped narrow the gap at the top to seven points.
He declared: "Everything is possible. The season is very long and we've experienced that in the past two years. We just have to focus on ourselves, we are still only in December so there are still a lot of things that can happen."
Saliba - speaking alongside goalkeeper Neto during a gratifying recent visit to Ashmount Primary School in Islington - also detailed his pride at representing a club at the heart of the local community after being mobbed by the starstruck seven and eight-year-old children.
The France international, who played football, took questions and joined a reading class with the privileged young pupils, claims the sense of social responsibility from Arsenal's deep-rooted connection to their supporters and surroundings is fuelling their quest for success.
He added: "We're so happy to be involved in this type of project. We know that when you love football, you want to see and meet football players like us.
"I never had the chance when I was younger, so it's good to give back to the kids and be connected with our local community. Their support is a huge inspiration for us, we take it with us every time we go onto the pitch. We've all been in their place when we were young and from day one here, I could see we do a lot of things in the community for the kids."
William Saliba and Arsenal goalkeeper Neto were mobbed by pupils at Ashmount Primary School
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Image:
Arsenal FC)
Saliba's exceptional defensive partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes is now rightly regarded as among the best in world football.
But to cement their legacy, the former Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille loanee is adamant the duo must deliver silverware in N5.
He said of his Brazilian companion, who is targeting a return to action against Fulham: "Since the day I first played with him, I've enjoyed every game. He's a massive, massive defender that is so good in every aspect.
"But if we want to be all-time great defenders, where everyone remembers us, we have to win some trophies. We haven't done it yet but we will give everything to achieve that."
After lauding Arsenal's red-hot goalscoring form - the Gunners have struck 15 times in four straight victories in all competitions since last month's international break - Saliba is now striving to tighten things up at the back.
William Saliba has been a rock at the back for Arsenal alongside Gabriel Magalhaes (
Image:
James Gill/Danehouse)
The Parisian confessed: "Since we've been back, we've been playing better football and we have to keep going. We're so happy to be scoring goals but we concede a lot of goals, as well.
"It's not good enough, especially last weekend [against West Ham ] when we were winning 4-0, we didn't have to concede two goals just after. I think we have to do much better defensively."
Saliba also paid tribute to relentless boss Arteta for helping the Gunners weather a significant storm as injuries and suspensions threatened to derail their season.
He concluded: "He was with us, telling us that we are still a really good team. It was a tough moment but he gave us a lot of confidence to get back to playing the way we are now.
"And he was right because since the Chelsea game we are playing better, winning games and scoring a lot of goals. We can still improve but Mikel helped give us a lot of confidence [that Arsenal could turn things around]."
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