William Saliba has admitted that he is not entirely satisfied with Arsenal winning the Premier League and is already contemplating how to defend the title next season. The Gunners ended their 22-year championship drought after Manchester City drew with Bournemouth on Tuesday, prompting wild celebrations outside the Emirates Stadium.
This triumph has sparked a mentality shift within the squad, with the French defender and his teammates now believing they can successfully retain the league crown next campaign. Speaking ahead of Arsenal's final league match against Crystal Palace on Sunday, where they will lift the trophy at Selhurst Park, Saliba said: 'Now we are champions. Last season we finished second but even when we finished second, we had the good mentality the season after to keep going and it finally paid off. We didn't give up, we deserve that title, and we will come back again next season to try and win as well.'
The 23-year-old added: 'It is my first one, so I am happy. But I am not full. I want more.' Saliba pinpointed Arsenal's late 2-0 win over Everton in March as the moment he became convinced they would win the league. He explained: 'I started to feel we could do it in March. After the game against Everton, it was clear to me that we would win the league. When we came back from the international break it was a bit hard. But we kept going, we believed in ourselves, even after the loss against Manchester City in April. And now we are champions.'
There remains a further chance of silverware this season, with the north London club facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final next Saturday in Budapest. Arsenal are aiming to win Europe's premier competition for the first time in their 140-year history. Saliba is well aware of the threat PSG pose, having been beaten by them in the Champions League semi-finals last season, and counts several France teammates among their squad.
He added: 'Yeah, they were scary last year, and they're still scary this year. So, nothing has changed. We know that if we want to beat them, we have to be 100 per cent. They have a great attack. I know them because I play with them for the national team and we played against them last season. We know if we want to win against them we have to be at our best next Saturday because they are so, so good.'
Saliba concluded: 'We have the best defence this season. And 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. There is a big chance next week, so we have to give everything.'
