Saliba urged to snub Real
William Saliba has been urged to reject a potential move to Real Madrid by former Gunners hero Emmanuel Petit.
He told the Evening Standard: “If he goes to Real Madrid, it’s another story.
“It’s the same with Trent Alexander-Arnold. It’s one thing playing with Liverpool, where you have been loved by the fans for such a long time and won many trophies, but it’s a different story when you go to Real Madrid.
“I have experienced that. When I left Arsenal, I was loved by the fans. When I went to Barcelona, it was a blank page, a new story that I had to write.
“I had to forget what I had done in the past and deliver with a new club.
“It will be the same with Saliba. I can understand that it could be a dream for a player to sign for the best club in the world. But the grass is not really greener outside.”
Andrea Berta ‘closing in’ on first signing
Arsenal are confident of snapping up Martin Zubimendi in the next few months.
That’s according to talkSPORT, who claim the north Londoners are increasingly confident of signing the Real Sociedad and Spain midfielder in early June.
Should they snap up Zubimendi, the Euro 2024 winner will be Andrea Berta’s first signing since replacing Edu as the Gunners’ sporting director.
Arteta’s Saka fear
Mikel Arteta has revealed he thought Bukayo Saka’s penalty miss against Real Madrid could have had a serious “emotional” impact on him.
He said: “It could have been a turning point emotionally in the game but the way he handles it, the personality, at his age playing in this stadium for the first time was incredible.
“I could have given him a clip round the ear. But he decided what is best: he had the courage to take it, that’s what he thought was best.
“I was more concerned about the emotional part of it [than the miss itself].”
Arteta proud as punch
Mikel Arteta admits he hasn’t been prouder of his team than he was after they dumped out Real Madrid.
When asked if he had felt any more pride at his troops’ achievements, the Spaniard replied: “Probably not.
“Not only because we’re in the semi-final but the manner we did it.
“Because of the circumstances, the amount of injuries. It shows the character of this team, this club. This is another massive step for us.”
‘Dem Boyz’
Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are still basking in the glow of Arsenal’s progression to the Champions League semi-finals.
The pair did a joint Instagram post on Thursday afternoon, which featured a picture of them celebrating Saka’s goal at the Bernabeu.
And it was accompanied by the audio to Black Sherif’s ‘Where Dem Boyz’.
Saka confident of Champions League glory
Bukayo Saka is confident Arsenal can go on to win the Champions League following their back-to-back wins over Real Madrid in the quater-finals.
The England winger said: “We felt comfortable.
“We are quite good when we get into a low block. It took a lot of running but we managed to do it.”
When asked if the north Londoners can win the competition, he replied: “Yes. I like to believe that.”
Read the full article here
