William Saliba Arsenal Emirates Stadium
Arsenal Emirates Stadium
Arsenal are one of the biggest suitors for Rodrygo and in an act of desperation, the Gunners have offered a swap deal involving the Real Madrid forward and their centre-back William Saliba.
As shocking as it may sound, the Gunners are willing to send Saliba to the Bernabeu in the hope of signing Rodrygo. Florentino Perez has swiftly rejected the offer because he is reluctant to lose Rodrygo before the player holds talks with the new manager.
Also, Real Madrid are planning to sign William Saliba as a free agent and they do not want to waste unnecessary resources on him this summer. Saliba’s contract expires in 2027 and Madrid are confident they will be able to land him for free.
Why is Mikel Arteta even considering a swap deal between William Saliba and Rodrygo?
William Saliba has been one of the most consistent Arsenal players in recent seasons and he along with Gabriel is the main reason why Mikel Arteta hasn’t had to worry about his backline so much.
At first glance, it may seem really weird that the manager is ready to lose such an important player but Mikel Arteta is trying to avoid the long-term problem by offloading him right now.
Real Madrid have made it very clear that they want to sign Saliba and even the Frenchman wants to play for Los Blancos. We have seen Mbappe and quite recently, Trent running out their contracts with their respective clubs just to join Real Madrid and Arteta is fearful that Saliba will also do the same.
Madrid know very well that no player will be able to reject their appeal which is why the club has adopted the strategy of playing the waiting game. They have landed Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth and the youngster can be a long-term solution in central defence. The likes of Militao, Rudiger and Alaba are good for another two years and this timeline aligns perfectly with William Saliba’s contract expiry.
Arsenal are already in the process of preparing a new contract for William Saliba but with Real Madrid circling, it will be very hard to convince the defender. The Gunners are taking their time with this but as soon as the defender enters the final year of his contract, alarm bells will start ringing.
Mikel Arteta is probably thinking of securing a top class player like Rodrygo by sacrificing Saliba rather than lose the defender for free in two years’ time.
We don’t know if this is the right thing to do but Arsenal missed out on the Premier League title because of their lack of attacking options and Arteta is desperate to solve that problem before the next season kicks off. Rodrygo can play on either wing and also as a centre-forward and the Brazilian is a proven goalscorer, netting 68 goals in all competitions for Madrid.