William Saliba could become third-highest earner if he signs a new £250,000-a-week contract in north London.

The French centre-back has been instrumental in Arsenal's rise to regular title contenders since joining the club in 2019 for a fee of £25million (€30m). After three loan spells at Saint-Etienne, OGC Nice and Marseille, Saliba returned to in the summer of 2022 and has since made 119 appearances, scoring seven goals and providing two assists.

His impact is undeniable, winning 64 of his 90 games and keeping an impressive 39 clean sheets throughout this time. However, current holders Real Madrid are . Despite this, Arsenal are not open to bids and are instead planning to offer him a new contract, it's claimed.

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Even though current deal runs until 2027, manager Mikel Arteta is understandably keen for him to commit his long-term future to the north London club. It's suggested his weekly wage could increase to a staggering £250k, as per .

According to , Saliba is currently the seventh highest-earning player at , with a hefty £190k weekly wage. A new contract could see his yearly earnings jump to £13m, catapulting him above stars like Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, both on £240,000 weekly, Bukayo Saka (£195,000) and fellow defender Gabriel (£100,000).

However, even with that reported increase, Saliba wouldn't surpass Kai Havertz, who tops the club's wage list with an eye-watering £280,000 weekly and earns up to £14.5m annually. Next up on the list is Gabriel Jesus, with his £265,000 weekly wage, totalling up to £13.7m per year.

Saliba appears wholly committed to Arsenal, having pledged his future to the Gunners in December despite speculation linking him with Real. "Yeah of course, I feel at home," he said. "I signed for the club five years ago but it's only my third season and I'm enjoying everything - the players, the staff and the fans. I feel at home so of course, why not?"

Despite the strong performances from Saliba and Gabriel this season, Arsenal's title hopes are fading as Liverpool sit 13 points ahead of them, albeit having played a game more. Arteta remains defiant, stressing that motivation isn't an issue for his squad.

He said: "It was same a week ago, two weeks ago, three months ago. The only thing we can do is win our matches and see how many points we get."

The Arsenal boss also expressed excitement about his team's Champions League prospects, especially with their upcoming round of 16 first leg against PSV. After the goalless draw with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last week, he said: "Today we dropped two points which is very painful.

"We have the Champions League, a beautiful competition, in front of us. I want us to be ready for Tuesday."