Antonio Rudiger: I want William Saliba at Real Madrid

Tom Weber

• Updated: 4 Oct 2024 11:41 BST
• 3 min read

Real Madrid superstar Antonio Rudiger has waxed lyrical about William Saliba and invited him to join the club.

The Arsenal defender has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the world. Saliba has been imperious for the Gunners as they have challenged Man City for the Premier League title in the past two seasons and this has not changed so far this term.

The 23-year-old and his partner in crime Gabriel Magalhaes have made Arsenal's backline one of the meanest in the Premier League, while the latter is also playing a crucial role on attacking set-pieces.

READ MORE: RED-HOT Arsenal target 'not untouchable' in January

Saliba's performances have, of course, not gone unnoticed elsewhere and the Frenchman has been linked with Real Madrid in recent months. FootballTransfers understands that Arsenal have absolutely no intention to even entertain talks over a potential sale, but the links won't be going away anytime soon.

Indeed, the speculation will only be further stoked by comments of Los Blancos star Antonio Rudiger.

Rudiger: 'I'd sign Saliba'

Speaking to The Inside Scoop for a lengthy interview, Rudiger was asked about his top three centre-backs in the world right now. "Saliba, Virgil van Dijk and - he's really pushing, he's really pushing - I like Gabriel from Arsenal as well," he said.

"I leave the comparing to you guys. It's just in general, I just enjoy, for example, if you see Arsenal, the two centre-backs who are playing together, for two years now they've been doing an amazing job. The transformation of Arsenal from before to now, those two are the pillars of it.

READ MORE: 'Micky van de Ven is better than William Saliba'

"With Gabriel, you have the more aggressive leader and Saliba - this brother plays clean! You have to give it to him. He looks like a silent leader, you know? I like that."

Asked which centre-back he would sign for Real Madrid, he again mentioned Saliba, which prompted the hosts to tell the German that he was scaring Arsenal fans. "I'm not scaring, but if he keeps doing what he's doing right now, it's clear...," a laughing Rudiger responded.