Arsenal positives and negatives David Luiz contract extension

Arsenal’s Summer Transfer Plans Made Clearer

Konstantinos Mavropanos and William Saliba are both due back in north London in the summer, complementing the five centre-backs already on the books. Arsenal don’t need seven central defenders.

Saliba will compete for a place in the starting lineup next season, and while Mavropanos signed a new contract prior to his loan move to the Bundesliga, that’s set to be with a view of garnering a decent fee at the end of the season. His impressive form points towards a tidy profit.

As for Calum Chambers, he also appears on the move elsewhere. Come the summer he’ll only have one more year left to run and all signs indicate a summer sale.

The options at centre-back are stronger than they’ve been for a while. Rob Holding has come up leaps and bounds and will have Saliba as competition, while Gabriel continues to develop and Pablo Mari has proven himself to be a reliable figure on the left side of defence. If Mavropanos and Chambers are sold, Luiz can take up the slot of fifth choice on ideally lowered wages.

Above all, it means focus can be put on other areas of the squad that need strengthening. A centre-forward, left-back, central midfielder, permanent creative midfielder and goalkeeper are arguably all more important in the summer than a new central defender. That area can then be looked at further down the line.