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Mikel Arteta is set to commit his future to his beloved Arsenal project, with a new deal reportedly agreed, which will see the Spaniard's tenure in North London surpass a decade. Meanwhile, Declan Rice is expected to follow suit and sign a new five-year deal, which will keep him at the Emirates until 2031.
Both of these contracts have been on the club's agenda for over a year now, and the hierarchy will be relieved to have finally sorted the pair of them. However, the work doesn't stop there for Andrea Berta and Co.
The Gunners have a number of other important contracts to address in the next six to 12 months, with difficult decisions needing to be made.
With that said, here are three more players whose deals need to be renewed by Arsenal as soon as possible.
Jurrien Timber
It would be reasonable for Arsenal's hierarchy to be somewhat sceptical about handing Jurrien Timber a bumper new contract due to his recent injury history. The Dutchman spent an entire season on the sidelines with an ACL tear, while he also essentially didn't play at all between March and September of this year.
That said, the Gunners shouldn't overindex these setbacks. For almost two full seasons, Timber was fit every single week, and when he played, he was magnificent.
Establishing himself as one of the best right-backs in world football, the defender is a core defensive pillar in Arsenal's backline, while he's steadily improved as an attacking force in recent times. His current deal expires in the summer of 2028, so a verdict on his next contract needs to be reached before the end of this season.
The 25-year-old is in line for a major pay rise, and this is primarily why he needs a new deal. Currently earning £120,000-a-week, this places Timber as the 16th-highest earner in Arteta's squad - a salary which certainly doesn't reflect his importance to the team.
The likes of Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres, Ben White and Mikel Merino all take more money home than Timber, despite all arguably filling squad roles.
David Raya
Like Timber, David Raya's wage doesn't reflect his role in Arteta's squad. Not only is the shot-stopper the Gunners' starting goalkeeper, he's also one of the most pivotal players at Arsenal, and one of the best goalkeepers in world football, yet his £140,000-a-week contract makes him the 14th highest earner on the books at the Emirates.
His deal is also up in 2028, meaning it's time for Arsenal to either cash in or pen him down for the foreseeable future. Given his standing as one of the best in his position on the planet, there is no world where the Gunners opt to cash in, while Raya is seemingly happy with remaining in N5.
The World Cup winner only just turned 31, meaning he has several years ahead of him at the highest level. A new four or five-year deal would certainly be reasonable.
Kai Havertz
Interestingly, both Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard's contracts expire at the same time as Timber and Raya's - in the summer of 2028. There is an argument that both of them need to be renewed as soon as possible, given how important they've both been at the start of this season.
However, with both on astronomical salaries and set to enter the latter stages of their prime, there may only be room for one of the two to stay in North London beyond the end of next season.
Odegaard has proven himself to be extremely important this term, but there is a key reason why Havertz might be renewed over the Norwegian. Arsenal need to start making their squad younger over the coming years, and there are already options on their roster who could replace Odegaard in a year or two.
Max Dowman is primed to take Odegaard's spot, while Ethan Nwaneri is still a contender to do this as well. Meanwhile, there is much less of a clear succession plan for Havertz.
Gyokeres' declining form has made his exit feel inevitable in one of the next two transfer windows. Behind the Swede and the German, there isn't a young talent chomping at the bit to be Arsenal's future number nine.
The Gunners will likely dip into the market to address this shortcoming, but the likely path will be to add a young player like Eli Junior Kroupi who can compete with Havertz in the short-term before eventually succeeding the Germany international. This means there's still a clear role for Havertz to play over the next three to four years, whilst Odegaard may need to be sacrificed to platform Dowman and save huge amounts of resources in wages.
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