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French defender William Saliba has been a pivotal player under Mikel Arteta this season, but the Arsenal centre-back insists he is not content with just one trophy after lifting the Premier League title.

Saliba, who finally achieved his dream of becoming a Premier League champion with his boyhood club Arsenal, says his appetite for success is far from satisfied. His sights are now firmly set on the UEFA Champions League as the Gunners prepare for their showdown with Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest next Saturday—a match that could see them crowned European champions for the first time in the club’s history.

After ending a long wait for the league title, a huge psychological weight has been lifted from Arsenal’s players. However, Saliba made it clear that complacency will not set in among the squad. “It would mean a lot,” he 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. And there is a big chance next week in the Champions League, so we have to give everything.”

PSG, managed by Luis Enrique, are the reigning European champions and overcame Bayern Munich in a thrilling semi-final, winning 6-5 on aggregate. With a devastating attacking lineup featuring Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, PSG have one of the most feared forward lines in Europe. They also knocked Arsenal out at the semi-final stage last season.

Yet Saliba is relishing the prospect of facing such an elite attack, confident that Arsenal’s defensive strength can make the difference this time. “They were scary last year, and they're still scary this year,” he admitted. “So nothing has changed. We know that if we want to beat them, we have to be 100%. We have the best defence this season. And when you are the best, you want to play the best, so we are happy to have attackers like this to play against us next Saturday and I hope we will win that battle.”

It has been a demanding campaign for Arsenal, who led the Premier League table from early October until April, when Manchester City briefly overtook them on goal difference. That came after a surprising loss to Bournemouth earlier in the month, preventing Arsenal from going 12 points clear.

Despite that setback and a subsequent defeat at the Etihad Stadium, Saliba said his belief never wavered. He pointed to the 2-1 win over Everton in March—when substitute Max Dowman scored a late winner—as the moment he became convinced Arsenal would go on to claim the title. “We started the season well, but you know the Premier League is long,” Saliba reflected. “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.”

Explaining why that Everton match was so significant, Saliba said: “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 in the summer of 2019 under then-manager Unai Emery, before Mikel Arteta took charge. At that point, he was still a teenager and spent time on loan at Saint-Etienne, Nice, and Marseille before establishing himself as a first-team regular. He made his Premier League debut at the start of the 2022–23 season and has been a guaranteed starter whenever fit since then.

After coming close to glory in previous campaigns—finishing second three years in a row—Arsenal finally crossed the finish line as champions this season. “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. “Every game in the Premier League is so hard, even if you play the bottom team. Finally we won the league and we have to go again next season.”