William Saliba reveals when he knew Arsenal ‘would win’ Premier League this season – ‘it was clear to me’
William Saliba has revealed when he knew Arsenal “would win” the Premier League this season, while he has previewed the Champions League final.
After finishing second in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons, Arsenal have finally got over the line this season to win the title for the first time in 22 years.
The Gunners gave themselves a great chance of winning the title by making a statement in last summer’s transfer window, and they have deservedly been crowned champions after edging out Manchester City.
The north London side have had a few bumps on the road this season, but Saliba has revealed that he has known since March that they would win the Premier League this season.
“I started to feel we could do it in March,” Saliba said.
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“After the game against Everton, it was clear to me that we would win the league.
“It was a hard game, and we knew that we would not play in the Premier League until after the international break, so that win was so important.
“It was a tough game, and afterwards, City dropped points against West Ham, so it was a good day for us.
“When we came back from the national team, it was a bit hard. But we kept going, we believed in ourselves, even after the loss against City. And now we are champions.”
“When you are the best…”
Saliba has also looked ahead to next weekend’s Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.
“We have the best defence this season,” Saliba added.
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“When you are the best, you want to play the best, so we are so happy to have attackers like this to play against us next Saturday, and I hope we will win that battle.
“It is normal that they (PSG) are the favourites, because they won the Champions League last season, and now they are in the final again.
“We have to fight, and if we want to change that, we need to win.”
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has also reserved praise for Arsenal and has agreed with a recent comment made by PSG boss Luis Enrique.
“I think, first of all, I’m hoping someone would have asked me that question at the start. But let me in this position congratulate Arsenal [on] winning the league, the club, Mikel [Arteta] and his staff for a great accomplishment,” Slot told reporters.
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“Winning the league here in England is never easy and they’ve done a tremendous job this season, so congratulations to them.
“But for me they’ve been a different champion than the last time. The last 10 seasons this league has been won by other teams.
“First of all, because it’s the first time in 30 years that a team had 40 per cent of their goals they had from set-pieces. I think Luis Enrique said – and I completely agree with him – they are maybe by far the best team off the ball in our league but I also think in Europe.
“So, football has changed, has evolved and we have to make sure we are able next season again to compete with Arsenal and with [Manchester] City again with our own brand of football.”
