Will Real Madrid target William Saliba? Arsenal legend in worrying 'holding our breath' admission amid transfer links as he accepts France defender may want La Liga move

The Premier League giants have their France international defender tied to a contract through to the summer of 2027, so have no immediate cause for concern when it comes to interest from elsewhere. The plan is for the talented 23-year-old to spend many more seasons in north London.

Speculation regarding admiring glances from Santiago Bernabeu is, however, impossible to ignore. Real are famed for their ‘Galacticos’ recruitment model and have a tendency to get what they want once top targets have been identified.

That could worry some at Emirates Stadium, with a move to the Spanish capital appealing to any player, and former Gunners defender Winterburn – speaking in association with William Hill Vegas - has told GOAL of the Saliba rumours: "Real Madrid do tend to get what they want. If you want to talk about what we consider to be the big clubs in Europe, it’s Barcelona and Real Madrid. If you are going to move and want to go abroad, people say Barcelona or Real Madrid.

"If they come calling, the question you ask of yourself is, firstly ‘do I want to go?’ and secondly ‘where is my club going within that journey and what is it capable of achieving?’. Then you put those two together and you discuss with the manager. You are just looking at individual players and where they see themselves and what they want to do."

Winterburn, who won three league titles with Arsenal in his playing days, added: "If Real Madrid come in for Saliba, I think we will be holding our breath. But you are also hoping that you are on a journey that he believes he doesn’t have to move at this moment in time and could help our club become successful again. That is, stating the obvious, winning the Premier League again - which we haven’t done for a long time - and getting back to, not necessarily winning it, a Champions League final. The Champions League for Arsenal has not gone well in history, in terms of where you think Arsenal have been and I think we should have progressed a lot deeper more often into that competition.

"If you have got good players and they are playing well, then there is always going to be some club that’s going to be looking at your players. It’s no different to Arsenal looking at players from other teams."

Saliba has offered no indication that he is considering a change of scenery any time soon. He is, however, an ambitious character and Arsenal will know that they need to start landing major silverware - both domestic and continental - in order to keep prized assets happy.