William Saliba’s new contract has brought joy to Arsenal fans, but Alan Brazil isn’t convinced.
For so long, there was anxiety about the idea of Arsenal losing their best players to other European clubs.
Many have become heroes in North London just to move on to bigger things, but the narrative has been abolished, with Saliba the latest to commit his future to Arsenal.
Though things were difficult between Saliba and Mikel Arteta at first, the Frenchman has pushed on at Arsenal to become one of the world’s best.
In turn, that has attracted some of the world’s best clubs, with Real Madrid wanting to sign Saliba, but having put pen to paper, the case is now closed.
Alan Brazil doesn’t think William Saliba is telling the truth about not wanting to join Real Madrid
Saliba’s long-term future is at Arsenal, but there was a time when many were worried that that might not be the case.
Real Madrid had a plan to sign Saliba, but ultimately, the defender chose to remain at the Emirates, a decision that Alan Brazil doesn’t believe is completely true.
Speaking to Ally McCoist on talkSPORT, Brazil accused the Arsenal centre-back of ‘telling fibs’ about not wanting to sign for Madrid.
“I think William’s nose is like the childcatcher’s out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, I think he’s telling fibs,” Brazil said.
McCoist was having none of his co-host’s speculative claims, rubbishing them by sharing his opinion that Arsenal are actually better than Real Madrid.
“Wait a minute, I’ll tell you why I don’t think he is telling fibs, I think Arsenal are a better team,” McCoist explained.
“I watched Real Madrid get turned over by Atletico Madrid, I watched Arsenal beat them home and away last year.”
Saliba signing a new contract is huge for Arsenal for many reasons, the most prominent being that players would rather work with Arteta than play elsewhere.
Saliba explains why he chose Arsenal over Real Madrid
Even the glitz and glamour of playing and challenging in the Premier League can’t keep some players away from the idea of playing for Real Madrid.
In the summer, Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold packed their bags and left England for Madrid, which was something Saliba was asked about after signing his new deal.
Asked in a pre-match press conference about why he wasn’t as attracted to Madrid as Alexander-Arnold was, Saliba responded:
“He won some titles with Liverpool. I didn’t win anything here, only the Community Shield. I’ve done nothing for this club to think about leaving. I want to stay here and win a lot of trophies.”
It was a bold answer from Saliba, who left nothing to be speculated, then doubled down on his love for Arsenal.
“I love this club. I cannot leave this club without giving them something back. I‘ve won nothing. So, yeah, my first choice was to stay here and win everything first.”
Saliba’s words will be music to Arsenal fans’ ears, but the defender has yet to convince Brazil, something he’s unlikely to lose sleep over.
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