William Saliba 'feels at home' at Arsenal after fine start to season

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William Saliba 'feels at home' at Arsenal after fine start to season

Arsenal defender William Saliba has stated that the club feels like ‘home’ to him, which will surely be music to the ears of Gunners fans.

Saliba returned the club after impressing on loan at Marseilles last season and has now established himself as a key man in Mikel Arteta’s side. Already a defensive rock, he even underlined that with another goal in the 3-0 win over Brentford last week.

It has now been three years since the centre-back signed from St Etienne in a deal worth around £27m. He has just two more years left on his current contract, which has led to some speculation about his longer-term future, but Saliba appears very settled in North London.

"I’m at home here,” Saliba told Sky Sports.

“I like London, I like the club, I like everything. I feel at home here."

Saliba’s fine performance caught the attention of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta too. He even revealed after the match that the Frenchman’s performance was even better given the context of recent fitness struggles.

"He was superb,” Arteta said. "He hasn’t trained for 10 days because he had some discomfort, but he comes in and competes like that. Not only the goal and his defending but he does the ugly part of the game that people won’t recognise. He deserves credit."

Saliba’s fine start to his Arsenal career is also perfectly-timed with the World Cup so close. He has recently forced his way into Didier Deschamps' France squad, and he says he is desperate to remain there for the tournament in Qatar that kicks off in November.

"When you represent your country it's amazing," Saliba told Sky Sports. "My dream is to play in the World Cup with my country and I hope I will be in the team for the World Cup."