Arsenal must challenge to win the Champions League in order to stop William Saliba from leaving for Real Madrid.
That’s according to former Chelsea, Aston Villa and Marseille striker Tony Cascarino, who believes Saliba is already capable of stepping into the Los Blancos starting line-up.
Saliba has emerged as one of Mikel Arteta’s key players in recent years, starring at the heart of Arsenal‘s defence as they’ve finished second to Manchester City two years running.
The France international has not relented this season, either, helping the Gunners keep the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League after seven games, conceding just six goals and remaining unbeaten.
Unsurprisingly, Saliba is being heavily linked with 15-time European champions Real Madrid.
How can Arsenal keep William Saliba away from Real Madrid?
Arsenal are understood to be calm about Saliba’s future, with the defender under contract at the Emirates Stadium until the summer of 2027.
However, Real Madrid have reportedly already made first contact with the London side as they seek to lure the 23-year-old to the Santiago Bernabeu.
According to Cascarino, Arsenal must now establish themselves as Champions League challengers if they’re to keep Saliba from the grasp of Real Madrid.
“There are vultures in football hanging over football clubs all the time and trying to take their best players,” Cascarino told talkSPORT.
“There’s no bigger vulture than Real Madrid – if they’re after you then there’s a good chance of it happening.
“It’s not only convincing the player, but the agents get involved and the lure of Real Madrid.
“Look, winning and being successful is a great way of keeping players, it really is.
“Arsenal have to achieve that because Saliba is playing to the level of being a Real Madrid player but he’s got to be convinced that Arsenal are going to be a successful and winning team.
“They need to be challenging to win the Champions League because that’s what Real Madrid do so often.”
Cascarino continued: “I think everyone is replaceable to a degree.
“We’re talking about a super-high level and once Real Madrid are interested in you, you know that that’s the team who win the Champions League more often than not.
“When they’re after you, Arsenal have got a problem.
“He just signed a five-year deal around a year ago so they’ve got him tied down for quite a while, but they might have to throw another new deal at him to try and keep him even longer.
“It’s going to be a problem but that’s great for Arsenal as a football club because it shows they’re being successful because a club like Real Madrid want one of their players.”
