Arsenal defender William Saliba is already taking aim at a second Premier League title showing the commitment he has to the club
Arsenal defender William Saliba has admitted that he wants to win the Premier League for a second time after the Frenchman helped the club end its 22-year wait to win the English top flight. Saliba signed a new deal with the club during the season, committing his future to the club, convinced that he was in the right place to win the top honours.
That has since paid off, and alongside his regular centre-half partner Gabriel Magalhaes, the pair have been the bedrock of the Gunners’ success. Saliba will take on his rival at this summer’s World Cup, but not before attempting to win the UEFA Champions League final next week.
However, the focus remains on enjoying the success of the Premier League. Speaking to reporters at the Champions League final media day, Saliba explained the feeling of being a Premier League champion.
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“We are so happy to finally win the Premier League,” said. “Everyone is happy at the club, and everyone is happy in the city.
“We watched the game here, altogether, and at the end of the game we were so happy.”
It is the nature of sport that so soon after winning the trophy you have worked for several seasons to achieve that almost immediately the vision begins to again look ahead. For Arsenal winning this first title is not just about a one-off success, and the aim is to turn this victory into a dynasty of dominance in the game.
For Saliba, he regularly was linked with moves away from Arsenal with Real Madrid the main name in the fold. He had said that he wanted to win big trophies with Arsenal as a priority and was not thinking beyond that.
Now having done that, it is only natural that supporters might be tempted into worrying that an exit from the club becomes more realistic. But when asked by football.london what winning the league changes, Saliba admitted that he and the team already are thinking about trying to defend their status as Premier League winners with a second successive title.
“Now we are champions,” he replied, simply. “Last season we finished second, but even when we finished second, we had the good mentality the season after to keep going, and it finally paid off.
“We didn’t give up, we deserve that title, and we will come back again next season to try and win as well.”
Saliba believes this could be the first of many titles and explained that winning the league before the Champions League final is a boost that could help them lift a trophy Arsenal has never won.
“When you win a trophy, it is positive,” he said. “We can see everyone is in a good mood, the staff, the players. It is better that you win the league before the Champions League final so now everyone is happy.
“We have one more game in the Premier League, but whatever happens, we are champions, and then we have one week to prepare for Paris.”
Saliba’s journey at Arsenal was far from straightforward and he and Mikel Arteta were not necessarily aligned at the beginning of their time together. He went on loan to Nice and then Marseille before returning to establish himself in the side and is now a guaranteed starter whenever available.
“It has been a long journey, up and down, but now I am so happy,” he admitted. “I was not always happy when I was on loan and not playing but it is part of the process.
“I kept working hard and I believed I could make it, and for four years I have started for Arsenal and I finished the season with a Premier League, and we have something even bigger next week.”
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