“My pocket was empty the last year”

Arsenal defender William Saliba said he is ‘tired’ of finishing the season trophyless following the Gunners’ victory over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

Mikel Arteta’s side took a foot into the final after a 3-2 win over their London rivals at Stamford Bridge, with Saliba playing the full 90 minutes.

It’s been a remarkable 2025-26 campaign so far for Arsenal, who are currently on the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple. They sit atop the standings in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. They are also looking to win their first FA Cup trophy since 2020 and will face Wigan Athletic in the fourth round.

Since joining Arsenal in 2020, Saliba has yet to win a major trophy, having won only the Community Shield twice. Adding to his chagrin, he was part of the squad that finished runners-up in the league in each of the last three seasons.

Speaking after Wednesday’s game, the Frenchman spoke about the hurt of coming so close in previous seasons and expressed a desire to win every available trophy.

“We want to win everything,” he told CBS Sports. “I think I’m tired to finish the season with nothing in my pockets. My pocket was empty the last year, and now we want to win everything: Carabao, the FA Cup, Champions League, Premier League.

“Of course, it’s not easy,” he added. “It’s easy to say it, but we want to prove it on the pitch, and we give everything to win every title.”

Saliba admits ‘best partnership’ with Arsenal teammate

Speaking further, Saliba acknowledged that his partnership with teammate Gabriel Magalhães at the heart of Arsenal’s defense was the best centre-back pairing in the world. The duo have been widely considered to have one of the finest centre-back partnerships in world football.

“For me, yes, we have the best partnership in the world,” Saliba said. “But we have to prove it with titles, of course, because if we say we’re the best and win nothing, it means nothing. So, we have to win titles and at the end of the season we’ll say that we have the best partnership in the world. We have to prove it on the pitch with titles, of course.”

With the pair marshalling Arsenal’s defense, the club have conceded 14 goals in the league this season – the fewest of any side in the division.