Fears two more Arsenal stars will leave if Real Madrid sign William Saliba

Emmanuel Petit fears two more Arsenal stars will leave the club if Real Madrid manage to prise William Saliba away from the Gunners.

Saliba, 24, has emerged as a transfer target for Real Madrid ahead of the summer transfer window.

The Frenchman has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the world over the past three seasons and has reportedly not ruled out a move to the Bernabeu.

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Petit says losing Saliba would be a ‘step back’ for the club and render any summer additions pointless.

Mikel Arteta is expected to bolster his Arsenal squad with several new signings this summer but Petit says those additions would be futile if key defender Saliba was to depart.

Petit believes Saliba’s possible transfer exit would also make players like Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice question their future at the Emirates Stadium.

‘I’ve been reading things about Arsenal selling William Saliba to Real Madrid,’ Petit told talkSPORT. ‘I’m thinking, “what the hell?”

‘You want to bring in strikers, wingers, and then you sell your best defender? What’s the point? It’s a step back if you do that.

‘The first step for Arsenal needs to be to keep their best players.

‘If you start selling your best players, starting from Saliba, there’s no way that players like Saka and Rice… they will think, “what the hell? What are we doing?”‘

The possibility of Arsenal and England star Rice leaving the Gunners was raised by Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher at the weekend.

Asked whether Rice may consider his options after Arsenal went a fifth successive season without a trophy, he said on Sky Sports: ‘I don’t think there will be any thoughts like that right now.

‘I think the Arsenal players all feel they’re really close. They are very close, but we all know as players the final step is the biggest one.

‘In terms of Declan, I think he’s been Arsenal’s best player this season. I’m not saying he’d give it another 12 months, but I think those doubts maybe kick in in another 12 months.

‘I don’t think right now [Rice will be doubting his future]. It might be a little bit different for somebody like a [William] Saliba, who has been there a little bit longer and is desperate to get his hands on some silverware.’

Arsenal captain Odegaard ‘physically and mentally tired’

Another issue for Arteta is his captain Martin Odegaard’s dip in form throughout the 2024-25 campaign.

Petit was ‘frustrated’ by Odegaard’s performances and says he looked ‘physically and mentally tired’.

‘I don’t know about the captaincy, but I know that Martin Odegaard had a very, very good season both last season and the season before that,’ Petit BesteOnlineCasinoNederland.

‘I think he was one of the best players at Arsenal which made this season very frustrating, for him, but also for the fans and for different reasons.

‘I think the fact that Bukayo Saka didn’t play for four months had a big impact on his game. I think he looked tired as well.

‘I come back to the rotation of the team, but when you play every three days, you need to get rotated sometimes, especially during the second part of the season.

‘I think he looked tired, physically and mentally and he was missing Saka as well on the pitch. The fact he’s the only creative midfielder is a huge responsibility on his shoulders.

‘And the fact he’s the captain, he has to show all the time that he’s among the best players on the pitch. So for different reasons, he didn’t reach the level, the expectations.

‘It’s been a very frustrating season so far for him, because when you look at the PSG games, he didn’t have an impact, you know, on both games as well.

‘There are still two games to play. The most important is the next one against Newcastle. The least he can do is lead the team to victory and into the Champions League.’

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