To be a big club, you need to act like a big club.
While Arsenal have not confirmed that Cristhian Mosquera is the long-term replacement for William Saliba, centre-back was not viewed as a position that needed strengthening this summer. Jakub Kiwior, Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Ben White can all cover centrally if either of our first-choice pairing is unavailable.
Yet are the Gunners thinking long term?
Reports in France and Spain suggest that, as things stand, Saliba does not feel the need to extend his contract. That means, this time next year, the 24-year-old could push for a transfer or threaten to leave for free the following season. Expect Real Madrid to call our bluff during that period, making offers while knowing his value diminishes with each passing month.
Arsenal must learn from past contract errors
While Mikel Arteta will do everything in the next year to change his defender’s mind, it is comforting to see that lessons have seemingly been learnt. We cannot force the Frenchman to sign a new deal, and there is a growing concern that he could be the latest target of the Spanish giants’ evolving recruitment model.
It is strongly believed that players like Kylian Mbappe and Trent Alexander-Arnold were convinced off the record to run down their contracts with the promise of a move to the Bernabeu as free agents. Saliba has always seemed the most likely of our young talents to have his head turned, and if that happens, there is very little we can do.
I have often compared this current Arsenal squad to the one Mr Wenger built with young stars like Fabregas, Nasri and Van Persie. My fear is the same as it was then: our young talent could grow tired of waiting for potential to be fulfilled.
Back then, Fabregas was held longer than he wanted, and Van Persie was handed the captaincy as thanks for staying one more year. Ultimately, the club allowed contracts to run down due to fear of a PR backlash if another marquee name left the Emirates. That led to us overpaying Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to stay in North London.
A big club insists that no one man is bigger than the badge.
Our manager should sit with the owners and decide what salary they believe Saliba is worth. If it is rejected, we do not beg, panic, or feel sorry for ourselves. We plan for the future.
Mosquera might be ready sooner than expected
Mosquera can play in a back four or three, on either side of the defence, and carries a strong reputation in Spain. Who is to say the 21-year-old will not be knocking on the first team door by the time Saliba (if he does) asks to leave?
Some Gooners have misunderstood this viewpoint as defeatist, asking how losing top talent helps win trophies. Nobody wants Saliba to go, but given where he is in his contract, Arsenal must prepare for the possibility that he might not be in London much longer.
While some mock Real Madrid as a ‘cemetery of talents’, the irony is that youngsters often achieve more success there than they do with us. It is easy to understand why Los Blancos are hard to say no to.
This is why I warned the Kroenke family that you cannot stand still in this sport and let moments pass you by. Saliba will have listened to his manager say in January that our attack needed help. He then watched as no reinforcements arrived. He will also be aware of how long it has taken to finalise the signing of Viktor Gyökeres.
As a defender in a role where most peak after the age of 30, Saliba is in no rush. But come 2027, could anyone blame him if he felt he had a better shot at silverware in La Liga?
Almost from the moment he pulled on the red and white, you could see Saliba was destined for the highest level. He should not have to settle for second place or excuses.
His employers might hesitate or fail to act decisively, but Saliba is too good to wait around.
Any big club can lose a star. It is how you respond that defines you.
Your opinions welcome in the comments.
Dan Smith
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If Saliba doesn’t extend his contract by the end of this month, he must be transfer-listed because Arsenal should sell him when his value is peaking
Arsenal shouldn’t allow Saka and him dragging their contract negotiations till January 2026 or the end of next season when there will be only one year left on their contracts
Arsenal might’ve signed a homegrown winger i.e. Madueke to tell Saka that nobody is irreplaceable
@Gai, Saliba has subtlely said in one of his interviews that a player would only judged the trophies he won no matter how good he is or played. So, I won’t be surprised if Saliba has plans to leave by stalling on his contract.
Saka also has personal ambition I know. These players wants to achieve things footballer’s value begings to decline when their age continues to increase so you can’t blame them wanting to leav.
Arsenal must win trophies this season to keep lots of their star players.
The deadline of their contract extensions should be the end of this month. We can’t afford to have another key player’s contract problem
Arsenal could easily fetch around £200m from their sales if the club sells them next month
You’re right, part of good squad building is succession planning. Yes the need for silverware could prompt Saliba to agitate for a move to Madrid, but even if we won it all, he may still want to join them because playing for Madrid (or Barcelona) is a dream for most footballers.
Gundogan and Trent did everything to join Barca & Madrid despite the successes at City and Liverpool respectively. I’m hoping Arsenal will have that kind of pull someday.
It is a good thing the club are already planning for the future. And it’s not just Saliba. The Saudi clubs will still try for Gabriel. If it happens, we could have a ready made replacement in Calafiori(or Kiwior).
No doubt Mosquera has been brought in at the right time to understudy Gabriel and Saliba. It is more likely to be a notice of discontentment when a player refuses to sign an extension contract. In this case, the Manager and the Sporting Director have also reacted appropriately. And they are doing so for all key positions so that they are not caught unawares. But where they can improve their players’ welfare, they should not hesitate to do so from time to time.
Saliba will sign a new contract this season.
I’m sure he has Dan, if not this season then next season. Saliba wants RM, who doesn’t, and they want him.
There is a saying that the grass is greener on the other side but is it? A lot of players these days behave like sojourners! So, a wise team should always have a contingency plan in case a player wants out. Sporting has shown us that you can’t keep a player by force. Secondly, it is wise to keep your players on tenterhooks! They should not imagine that they are bigger than the team. Anyone who grows bigger than their shoes should be left to go. It is better to keep with those players who value the team. Imagine how much Gyokeres wanted to come. Even now Eberechi Eze is praying hard to join Arsenal. Why should any individual player imagine they are bigger than the club? Those of us who are older recall Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Sol Campbell, Kolo Toure, Lauren and other prominent defenders who put Arsenal on the map. Time came and they left. Some players like Van Persie and Ashley Cole abandoned the club of trophies elsewhere. Still the club moved on. So, the players had better know that very well.
David Rusa,
Your right, just ask Petit, Hleb and Anelka how green that grass was.
Regarding Anelka, I know he won the champions league with Real Madrid. But he has subsequently admitted that he regretted leaving Arsenal.
In deed, the other saying is, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
Wasn’t Anelka guided by his agent ( brother ) to leave us and join R.M. A classic case of a weak minded footballer just doing what his agent wants and not what they want.
Marty,
I remember at the time of Anelka and his agent brothers. Some one said that Anelka’s brother’s had found an oil well in their back garden and were bleeding it dry, hence Anelka’s constant transfers in such a short space of time.
The world knows about salibas talent. But having a partner like Gabriel supports him immensely! If he decides Madrid is his destination then guarantee arsenal will want 90/100 million even with a year left on contact & other fans are correct. Just because you go to Madrid doesn’t mean it’s going to work out. Being a unbalanced club saliba might av wished he was back in the arsenal family
Arsenal.com just announced Gyokores
Lets gooooo
Arsenal official page just announced Gyokores.
Lets gooooo
Eze next hopefully
We must win trophies to keep our best players.
WELCOME TO ARSENAL Gyokeres
It’s official. On Arsenal website
At a long last Victor is here. It’s official
Good article. You sense with Saliba that is destined to move on the minute he came back from league 1 loan years ago. Just like us sending him on loan he is gaining what he needs from us. Good move by the club to sign mosquera as you would expect a lot of noise in January transfer window on this.
Gabriel played better than Saliba last season so if Saliba really wants the move away and arsenal really want extra $$$ Saliba needs to get off to a flyer the season and I think he will.
Good article with good observations. Definitely a way of thinking that Arenal have lacked for as long as I can remember.
The signings look great now that Victor is official. Zubimendi / Rice / Odegaard in midfield and Victor + Saka + whoever can perform consistently on the left (I guess one of the next issues for Arteta to figure out) sounds like enough to scare anyone.
I hope he stays for 10 years. But if he wants to leave, we should let him go, and now it’s as good a time as any with his valuation. If we wait a year we may get half value or he and Madrid may decide to just wait out his contract and they’ll get another worldie for free. I just hope he’s being honest in his discussions with us and doesn’t pull the rug out after promising to stay. He doesn’t seem the sort, but money and notoriety makes fools of people and everyone makes mistakes.