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When domestic football takes a break it often sees focus shift towards matters off the pitch. Namely, transfers. Everyone is rightly excited about what Arsenal will do in the summer.
There are matters closer to home that need seeing to as well, however.
Mikel Arteta is building a squad that the entire fanbase is rallying behind. Bursting full of exciting young talent and propped up by some more senior heads, there is nevertheless still work to do in the coming windows.
On the shopping list is a right-back, midfielder, and striker. Those are three of the most discussed options, although depending on movement and opportunities there could be more on the horizon for the Gunners.
Arsenal: 6 player contracts expiring in 2024 to sort out, including William Saliba and Bukayo Saka
A lot will be dictated by where the side finishes in the Premier League table. The pull of Champions League football could influence potential arrivals as much as it could persuade players already at the club to stay or, if not, secure a move on to pastures new.
In the trimmed down 20-man squad there are six players to be looking in the months building up to the summer window as their deals are currently due to expire in 2024. That elusive point has arrived: renew, or sell?
That number technically sits at eight, but in the cases of Rob Holding and Gabriel Martinelli the club has the option to extend their deals by a further 12 months so they are less pressing concerns.
1. Bukayo Saka
The standout name on the list is Bukayo Saka, who will enter the final two years of his contract at the end of the season.
One of the best players in the team, he is also among the finest in the Premier League. His talent is as unquestionable as his ceiling is invisible, and tying him down to a new long-term contract that is financially befitting of his importance is the pressing matter at the moment aside from matters on the pitch.
Early stage discussions have been held with an offer set to be made in the coming weeks, and while there is talk that he may need convincing of Champions League football, there is a growing expectancy that he will commit his future to his boyhood club.
At just 20 years old there is no rush on his future. He’s Arsenal through and through and even with an agent not known for being the easiest to work with, fans should be quietly confident that he will commit.
Verdict: It needn’t be asked
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2. Cedric Soares
Enjoying something of an Arsenal renaissance in the absence of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Cedric has pleasantly surprised most with an impressive run of performances at right-back.
Having a spell at left-back last season before Mikel Arteta suddenly flicked a switch and kept him out of the team for the vast majority of the end of the campaign, he has since usurped Calum Chambers in the pecking order enough for the Englishman to be moved on in January.
Talk of Arsenal wanting to sign a new right-back in the summer was stronger a few weeks ago, with Arteta perhaps being swayed by the 30-year-old’s professionalism – that which can’t be begrudged.
Still, he’s knocking on a bit and remains guilty of some bizarre defensive positioning too often for comfort, so if an offer comes in that allows the club to invest in a younger option it would be wise not to turn it down.
Verdict: Sell
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3. Granit Xhaka
It’s an interesting one.
The point remains that Arsenal can upgrade in the left-sided No. 8 position. The point also remains that Granit Xhaka is having a fine season for the club and hopes of securing a Champions League position, as well as being in with a shout in the first place, pay a large thanks to his contributions.
A lot will depend on what the Swiss midfielder wants. It continues to be reported that Roma will go back in for him in the summer, and while his switch to a position that by all accounts shouldn’t cater to his skillset has been impressively smooth, is that where he wants to be playing?
We won’t know how the discussions with him over the summer went until the coming one. It appeared for all the world as if he was leaving, and were it for a few more million offered he may well be lining up alongside Ainsley Maitland-Niles at Stadio Olimpico.
The opportunity for expansion is there. Arsenal can enter a new era in midfield. In an ideal world Arsenal would still make that new signing and keep Xhaka on for depth and rotation, but there is flat out no way in hell that the Swiss would get on board for that.
Even with the extension signed last summer, it feels like this team is moving away from Xhaka, even if he’s still fundamental to it.
Verdict: Sell
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4. Nicolas Pepe
Oh Nicolas Pepe, why ever did Arsenal sign you?
The bottom line is that he will never be what Arsenal hoped he would be, and life at Arsenal will never be what he hoped it would be.
Entering into the final two years of his deal with only a handful of impressive performances to follow on from the same last season, the fact he cost a club record £72m makes the decision on his future intriguing. As scary as it sounds, him running down his deal and leaving for nothing feels like a distinct possibility.
It’s very evident that the manager doesn’t favour him. He’s not his player. Pepe, by no fault of his own, represents the miscalculated recruitment of the past. From a profile and technical level, he’s also not suited to Arteta’s brand of football. In other words there isn’t much going for him.
For the optics alone Arsenal have to accrue some kind of fee for him. For the bank balance, they are forced to.
Who will want him? More importantly, who will be willing to pay a fee that isn’t laughably below £72m? Indeed, nobody. What Arsenal need out wide is a technically secure and fast winger who is has distinctly more tactical intelligence and can play both sides. Pepe isn’t that.
Verdict: Sell (if at all possible)
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5. William Saliba
It’s coming up to that time of the year where the William Saliba saga opens up to a new chapter. As it stands discussions are to take place with his agent in the coming weeks to discuss an extension, with a lot of the debate going to be focused around playing time.
Does he get into this Arsenal team ahead of Gabriel or Benjamin White? While he’ll fancy his chances, you might not back him to replace either in Arteta’s eyes.
But with the hope of Champions League football next season and the need for three top class central defenders who all possess the technical quality on the ball, there is a large opening for him in this squad to rotate and compete.
Convincing him is another matter. This is a defender who has only just turned 21 yet has played more minutes across Europe than another other centre-back in his age bracket. Such have been the level of his performances that he’s made it into his first ever France senior squad, which is an almighty feat for any player considering the embarrassment of talent they boast in every position.
Destined to be one of the best in Europe, he’d be a valuable addition to the team he has yet to make a single appearance for. He’s Arsenal’s player after all, and if this club wants to be challenging at the top they need quality depth in key positions.
Verdict: Renew, although he’s surely going to want to leave
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6. Arthur Okonkwo
It appeared for a short while as if Arsenal were going to lose Arthur Okonkwo. There was interest in his signature from around England, with his performances in the Under-23 side across 2020/21 seeing his stock steadily rise.
Penning his first senior contract in July last year put an end to any speculation, and being promoted up to the first team as the Gunners’ third choice keeper was a special moment for someone who’d spent the last ten years at the club.
Featuring in numerous matchday squads in cup and league outings this season he’s still yet to make his first senior outing, and the imminent arrival of Matt Turner from New England Revolution to replace Bernd Leno will continue to limit his chances.
A loan move away would be best for him next season, one that allows him to get a regular taste of senior minutes to fully test his capacity to be challenging for the number two spot at Arsenal.
Still only 20 years old, there is plenty of time left for him to develop his game.
Verdict: Renew, then loan