News about Arsenal transfers: Gunners are preparing to sign a £ 26.5 million contract with William Saliba

Arsenal is expected to sign a contract with William Saliba, a native of Saint-Etienne, after signing a contract worth 26.5 million pounds sterling (£ 33 million) for the defender.

The teenage central defender has been a priority for the Gunners this summer and he will now travel to England to sign a long-term contract with the UAE.

The last offer of North Londoners is an improvement over their initial offer for the 18-year-old defenseman, while Tottenham was also ready to participate in the race.

After sealing the pbad to Arsenal, Saliba will however return to Ligue 1 club, loaned for the 2019-2020 season, rather than immediately joining Unai Emery's team.

Arsenal wanted to use the central defender for the upcoming season, but Saint-Etienne insisted that the deal would not be concluded unless he spent another year at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium.

The Gunners finally agreed to ensure that an agreement had been reached for the well-rated youngster, instead of risking losing it to another of the best European teams.

They also believe that another year of regular play in Ligue 1 will allow Saliba to be ready to embark on the run when he will finally visit England next summer.

Negotiations on the deal made considerable progress over the weekend. The two clubs are unveiling the final details of the transfer, which will be the second in Arsenal's summer season after the arrival of Brazilian teenager Gabriel Martinelli.

Negotiations have been difficult, Arsenal being reluctant to spend a lot of money on Saliba because they will not be able to use it before the 2020-2021 campaign.

The Gunners are working on a tight budget this summer and are naturally anxious not to start a game with a player who will not be part of Emery's team for the upcoming season.

Saliba had a decisive year in France during the 2018-19 campaign, with 17 appearances in all competitions.

Arsenal has been watching him closely in the last few months of the season and impressed by his maturity. It is 6 "and corresponds to the player profile that Emery seeks to recruit.

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The Spaniard is looking to bring down the average age of his team, who felt short of legs in the last weeks of last season.

Arsenal also remains on the hunt for Kieran Tierney, but has not yet been on the verge of meeting Celtic's demand for the left-back, which would likely be around £ 25m ($ 31m).

Wilfried Zaha remains the priority in an offensive sense, although there have been informal discussions with Barcelona on the availability of Malcom.