Arsenal: William Saliba explains new trophy 'hunger' as Gunners size up 'scary' PSG | OneFootball

Frenchman has been key figure under Mikel Arteta but is not satisfied with one piece of silverware

He might have finally won a Premier League title with boyhood club Arsenal but William Saliba is still "not full".

The Gunners face Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest next Saturday when they will have the chance to be crowned European champions for the first time.

“It would mean a lot," Saliba said.

"Now we have started with the Premier League, it is my first one, so I am happy. But I am not full. I want more.

William Saliba is hungry for more silverware after clinching the Premier League

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PSG are the holders and proved too strong for Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, winning a shootout of a two-legged tie 6-5 on aggregate.

Luis Enrique has arguably Europe's best attack at his disposal, including the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and they got the better of Arsenal in the semi-finals of this competition last season.

However, the opportunity to nullify that attack and ensure it is Arsenal's defensive strength that comes out on top is one Saliba is relishing.

"They were scary last year, and they're still scary this year," Saliba admitted.

"So nothing has changed. We know that if we want to beat them, we have to be 100%.

William Saliba has been among the Premier League’s most consistent defenders this season

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"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."

It has been a draining season for Arsenal. They sat clear at the top of the Premier League every day from early October until April, when Manchester City briefly moved ahead on goal difference.

That came after Arsenal had the chance to move 12 points clear earlier that month but lost to Bournemouth in the middle of their toughest run of the season.

However, Saliba insisted that neither that defeat nor the one that followed at the Etihad Stadium diminished his belief.

Instead, the Frenchman revealed that the win over Everton in March, when Max Dowman came off the bench to seal victory, was a tipping point in his mind.

Max Dowman’s late winner against Everton in March convinced William Saliba of Arsenal’s title-winning credentials

PA

“We started the season well, but you know the Premier League is long," Saliba said.

"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 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."

Asked why that Everton game stood out in particular, Saliba added: “The game against Everton 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.”

Saliba joined Arsenal before Mikel Arteta's reign had begun, arriving in the summer of 2019 under Unai Emery.

Then only a teenager, the defender had loan spells at Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille before eventually winning Arteta's trust.

He made his Premier League debut at the start of the 2022-23 season and has been a guaranteed starter when fit ever since.

That campaign ended in a near miss and a second-place finish, as did the two that followed. Now, though, Arsenal have finally got over the line.

“I knew it would be hard to win the Premier League but of course for three years we finished second, and it was hard because those first two years we deserved to win the Premier League," Saliba said.