William Saliba has committed his future to Arsenal on a new long-term contract, understood to run to 2027. The France defender was an ever-present in the league until he sustained a back injury in mid-March that ruled him out for the remainder of the season. Without him, Arsenal’s lead at the top was cut by Manchester City, who eventually powered past to retain their title. “I was born in north Paris but became a man in north London,” Saliba said in a video message for Arsenal fans on the club’s Twitter account. The 22-year-old, who will move to the No 2 shirt, told Arsenal’s website: “I think we can achieve everything. Of course, it’s easy to say this, but we have the coach, we have the character, we have the players and every year the team gets stronger.” Saliba is the latest of Mikel Arteta’s key players to sign a new contract, with Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale having done so this year and Saliba’s centre-back partner, Gabriel Magalhães, doing so last October. Reiss Nelson also agreed a fresh deal on Thursday. Declan Rice is poised to complete his £105m move from West Ham to Arsenal, who are also preparing to announce the signing of the defender Jurriën Timber from Ajax.