Antonio Rudiger has revealed he would love one of Arsenal’s star men to come join him at Real Madrid.
The two-time Champions League winner showed his admiration for William Saliba and said the French centre-back would be his dream signing for the Spanish giants.
The 23-year-old has continued to be a rock for Mikel Arteta’s side, exuding confidence and calmness when on the ball and defending one-on-one.
Arsenal have three clean sheets in the Premier League from six games, and have not conceded any in two Champions League matches.
Appearing on the Inside Scoop podcast Rudiger, who joined Los Blancos in 2022 and has won seven trophies, showed his admiration for the Gunners’ rock at the back.
When asked what defender he would sign for Real Madrid, the ex-Chelsea player replied: “I say William Saliba.
“I’m very happy with my centre-back partner [Eder] Militao because he also came from a big injury and he’s getting back to his best, but there’s so many games, so we would rotate.
“To have Saliba… it would be great.”
The Germany international was full of praise for Saliba’s partnership with Gunners teammate Gabriel Magalhaes, naming them as two of his top three centre-backs right now.
“Saliba and Virgil van Dijk and I like Gabriel from Arsenal as well,” he continued.
“I just enjoy, for example if you see Arsenal, the two centre-backs playing together for two years and now they’re doing an amazing job.
“The transformation from Arsenal that was before and now, those two are the pillars of it. You have Gabriel, the more aggressive leader and Saliba, this brother plays clean.
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“He looks like a silent leader.”
The 2022/23 campaign saw the rise of the duo with Saliba’s injury arguably being the reason why Arsenal’s title challenge derailed.
Last season the Gunners came awfully close to ending their 20-year drought but lost the Premier League on the final day after grinding out 18 clean sheets – the most in the top flight – 15 of which came when Saliba and Gabriel started as a pair.
The two have continued to grow and have arguably formed the best defence in the league alongside the likes of Jurrien Timber and Ben White.
Mikel Arteta has formed a side that is well respected defensively across Europe – a reputation that was boosted by their 2-0 victory against PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Nabbing Saliba will be a hard and expensive task for any interested clubs, as he signed a four-year deal with Arsenal in July 2023, expiring in 2027.
A move to Madrid would probably break the transfer record for a defender, currently held by Josko Gvardiol who moved from RB Leipzig to Manchester City for £77.6million in 2023.
Yes, Real Madrid have an abundance of money, but Rudiger may be out of luck as Saliba is committed to Arteta’s project.
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Speaking in an interview with Arsenal in September he said: “I still have goals and ambition because I haven’t won anything. I’ve had some good seasons, but you need to win some trophies and that’s what I want to do with Arsenal and the national team.”
When asked for the secret of his partnership with Gabriel, he replied: “There’s no secret, I’m good, he’s good. We both speak French and we play now in our third season together.
“We know each other so well and it’s a pleasure to play every game with him. We grow together because he’s young as well, so it’s really good to have him by my side.”
