Arsenal will face European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final next weekend, aiming for a memorable double.
Saliba aims for further glory this season (Image: Getty Images)
William Saliba says Arsenal are still “not full” after winning their first title in 22 years. Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30th, aiming for an unprecedented double crown.
The Gunners are aiming to win the European Cup for the first time in the club’s history and Saliba says winning the title will give them even more confidence that they can win both. Arsenal defender Saliba said: “It would mean a lot. I started in the Premier League. It’s my first league so I’m happy. But I’m not full. I want to do more. And next week we have a big chance in the Champions League so we have to give it our all.”
Saliba believes that finally winning the title after three years of second place has further strengthened his belief that he can win the European Cup. Luis Enrique’s PSG will undoubtedly start the final as favorites, but Saliba spoke like a man with newfound confidence after winning the title.
“Of course it changes something, because if you win the Premier League, if you win the Championship, you have more confidence before going into this final. So, yes, we are positive,” Saliba said.
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“Now we are champions. We finished second last season, but even when we finished second, we kept going the next season with a good mentality and it paid off in the end. We didn’t give up. We deserve that title. We’ll be back next season and aim for wins as well.”
“Winning a trophy is a positive thing. You can see that everyone is feeling good, both the staff and the players. It’s better to win the league before the Champions League final and everyone is happy now.”
“We have one more game in the Premier League but whatever happens we are champions and then we have a week to prepare for Paris.
“We knew it would be difficult to win the Premier League, but of course we finished second for three years and the first two years we deserved to win the Premier League so it was tough.
William Saliba speaks ahead of the Champions League final (Image: Getty Images)
“Every game in the Premier League is very difficult, even if you are playing against a team at the bottom of the table. Now that we have finally won the league, we have to go again next season.”
Arsenal’s defense was the meanest in the Premier League, conceding just 26 goals in 37 games, and keeper David Raya won the Golden Glove Award for the third year in a row for the most clean sheets. However, they will face an excellent PSG attack led by Ousmane Dembélé and winger Hviča Kvaratscheria, but Saliba said it was a challenge they were looking forward to – the best defense against the best attack.
“We have the best defense this season, and when you’re at your best you want to play at your best, so I’m very happy to have these attackers playing against us next Saturday and I hope we win that battle,” Saliba said.
“It’s normal that they (PSG) are the favorites because they won the Champions League last season and now they’re in the final again. We have to fight and if we want to change that we have to win.”
Saliba will have to keep a close eye on Ousmane Dembele during the Champions League final (Image: Getty Images)
Saliba admits his early days at Arsenal were tough as he was loaned out after first signing, but he has now won the Premier League title and is dreaming of the World Cup. He added: “We started the season well, but as you know, the Premier League is long. It wasn’t until March that we started to feel like we could do it. After the game against Everton, it was clear we were going to win the league.”
“It was a little difficult when we came back from the national team, but even after the loss against City we believed in ourselves and kept going. And now we are champions.”
“It’s been a long journey with ups and downs, but I’m very happy now. I wasn’t always happy when I was on loan and not playing, but that’s part of the process.”
“I continued to work hard and believed I could succeed. For four years I started for Arsenal and finished the season in the Premier League, and next week we have another big game coming up.
“The World Cup is coming up. First of all, we have the final against Arsenal, but the World Cup is also coming up. It’s a good time to show yourself and give everything you have.”
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