Arsenal: 5 players with important contract situations to sort out

At Arsenal this summer, it’s all about bringing in and shifting out. But what about keeping hold of? While it’s well documented which players are coming up to the final years of their contracts, there are seven with little over two years left to run.

With Mikel Arteta facing the prospect of in and around ten players leaving north London at the end of the season, he’s also got his eye on who needs bringing in. It’s going to be an ‘unprecedented’ summer of activity at the club, with Edu and co having their hands full.

They won’t be alone, though.

It was confirmed earlier in the season that Richard Garlick will leave his current role with the Premier League to become the new director of football operations at Arsenal, replacing the departed Huss Fahmy.

Arsenal: 5 players with important contract situations to sort out in the summer as 2023 expiration dates approach

His role will be similar to that of Dick Law before him, where he will help to deal with player contracts and negotiations, working closely alongside the technical director.

And come the summer there will be seven members of the Arsenal squad with two years left to run on their deals, meaning there is plenty for Garlick to get his hands stuck into by the time he assumes his role. However, two of those seven, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Willian, won’t – we can assume – be leaving and will instead see out their contracts before moving on for free in 2023.

Negotiations will need to be held with the other five, either with a view to moving them on or tying them down further. Allowing players to enter the final 24 months of their deals has been commonplace at the club for years, damaging finances to ridiculous levels, and is a practice the club must be moving away from.

The ‘two years left’ no man’s land of contracts is a dangerous grey area: sell, keep or extend? There are so many variables to consider and seeing to the issue in advance is essential.

So, whose futures need sorting?

Bernd Leno

There are those who appreciate what Bernd Leno brings to the team and laud his many vital clutch saves in goal, while others wish his name was Emiliano Martinez. The latter can’t be blamed, as the Argentine is a magnificent goalkeeper.

It was the German who got the nod from Mikel Arteta, largely because the £20m offer for Martinez wasn’t coming in for Leno and the profit made was too good to turn down.

With over 100 Gunners appearances under his belt, Leno is the undisputed No. 1. At 29 years old he’s in the best patch of his career and already among the better shot-stoppers in the Premier League.

He is flawed, of that there is little doubt, and given he’s coming up to 500 career appearances there is reason to believe he may never overcome certain failings. What he is, though, is a strong goalkeeper who is prone to the occasional error, and the best Arsenal have had since Jens Lehmann.

One of the few areas of the squad where the first choice position doesn’t need tinkering with – Leno can obviously be upgraded but not without a considerable outlay – he will be among those sure to pen a new deal.