Saliba contract talks enter impasse stage as ongoing injury issue explained

Arsenal news: William Saliba is out of contract in 2024 and the Gunners are facing two key decisions both regarding an extension and his ongoing injury issue

Arsenal face two major William Saliba decisions they must make in the coming months. The Frenchman's back injury has caused the Gunners significant issues in their Premier League title run-in, while his contract, which expires in 2024, is also a major worry for Arsenal following the latest update on a possible extension.

Saliba has been absent for over a month after going off in the Europa League defeat to Sporting CP and the latest update from Mikel Arteta did not appear to hint a return was coming soon. "We're still hopeful, but another week has gone by and he hasn't been able to train with the team," the Spaniard said.

"At the moment we don't have him. We are preparing for the game without him and probably the next game [Chelsea] will come too soon as well. We have to go week by week at the moment."

Rob Holding has been deployed in his absence and has struggled to match the impact of Saliba with Arsenal conceding 11 goals in the last four games. Beyond the end of the season and once Saliba has fully recovered from his back issue, there will still be a key problem that must be solved regarding the 22-year-old.

The contract priorities for Edu in this season has been to tie down the futures of Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Saliba. Martinelli's extension has been confirmed, while for Saka it looks to be a matter of time before his new contract is confirmed.

But, talks for Saliba don't appear to be taking place at the moment. The Athletic's David Ornstein delivered his latest updates on the situation surrounding Saliba both on his return from injury and contract talks.

Speaking on FIVE podcast, he said: "They have a key player who has a body to look after and to prepare for next season and get back in the right shape.

"He's 22 years old and I think they've got to be very cautious here's also a bigger picture to avoid potentially causing long-term damage by rushing him back or him rushing himself back. So it's very bad news for Arsenal and Saliba.

"There is also a bigger picture in that he is out of contract in the summer of 2024. We've seen [Gabriel] Martinelli sorted and there is an agreement with [Bukayo] Saka that hasn't to our knowledge been signed or announced yet.

"Then it comes to Saliba. We haven't heard anything to suggest there is an agreement close or in place yet for that."