Marseille president Pablo Longoria has acknowledged that the French club are keen to sign Arsenal defender on a permanent deal.

Saliba won the Ligue 1 Young Player Of The Year award for 2021-22, helping Marseille finish in second position and reach the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has since indicated that he plans to use Saliba in his first-team squad next season, finally handing a debut to a player who was signed three years ago.

However, with Saliba having admitted that he is open to leaving the Premier League outfit, Longoria has revealed that he intends to hold discussions with the Gunners regarding signing the 21-year-old on a full-time basis.

Speaking to RMC Sport, Longoria said: "We had a lot of conversations analysing William Saliba's season, especially in the last few days. He's coming off an extraordinary season, with one of the highest number of matches played in Europe.

"He also joined the France team, which is incredible at his age. We discussed a lot internally about what we can do, to find out what the possibilities are.

"We respect his club, we have to thank Arsenal. It's a friendly club that helped us a lot during the last transfer window. We have very good relations. We have to talk to each other, see if there is the possibility of reaching an agreement between the clubs, there is the player's will, the club's will, but above all, we must respect Arsenal."

Saliba currently has two years remaining on his contract at the Emirates Stadium.