David Ornstein drops worrying update over William Saliba's Arsenal contract talks

David Ornstein has dropped a worrying update regarding the future of Arsenal centre-back William Saliba.

Wednesday night proved to be sobering for Arsenal fans as Manchester City delivered a masterclass against the table toppers.

In a confrontation billed as a potential title decider, Mikel Arteta's side fell to a 4-1 defeat at the Etihad.

Pep Guardiola's men, who were inspired by a devastating partnership of Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne, are now just two points behind the north Londoners with two games in hand.

Should the Manchester club claim a victory at Fulham on Sunday they will go to the Premier League summit, and be well on course to claiming their fifth league title of the last six years.

Meanwhile, Arsenal must somehow pull out of a slump that has seen them go four league games without a win to have any chance of claiming their first Premier League since 2004.

While on the pitch there was disappointment for Arsenal fans, behind the scenes they are also allegedly struggling to secure Saliba to a new contract.

Saliba contract update

The Athletic's transfer guru Ornstein revealed worrying details regarding Saliba contract negotiations with Arsenal.

The Gunners centre-back has been central to the club's success this term, while Arsenal's dip in form has coincided with the the player sustaining a back injury.

The France international's Arsenal deal only runs until 2024, and Ornstein has provided a worrying update on the player's future.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand's Youtube channel Five, Ornstein said: "[Saliba] is out of contract in the summer of 2024. We've seen [Gabriel] Martinelli was sorted out. Then there was an agreement with [Bukayo] Saka, which has not been to our knowledge signed or announced yet. Let's see what happens on that front though I'm not aware of any glitches.

"And then it comes to Saliba. We haven't heard any evidence to suggest there's an agreement close or in place yet for that.

"It kind of underlines his importance since he's been out and that may play into the contract negotiation, but for the time being it's a player that Arsenal are going to have to do without [due to injury]."

Topics: Football, William Saliba, Transfers, Arsenal, Premier League

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.