Arsenal have been urged to complete contract renewals for both Bukayo Saka and William Saliba before turning their attention to bringing in new signings this summer. The Gunners have managed to agree new deals for Gabriel Magalaes and Gabriel Martinelli in the past few months, while a new deal for Aaron Ramsdale was confirmed earlier this week.
football.london understands the deal will keep the talented marksman at the Emirates Stadium until 2026, with the club having the option to extend that for a further 12 months. Ramsdale is now seen as a key figure in Mikel Arteta’s squad, with Arsenal keen to tie down key players to long-term deals.
The Gunners have enjoyed a brilliant season and are set to finish second in the Premier League table behind Manchester City as Arteta continues to help lead his side on an upward trajectory. football.london understands Arsenal are prioritizing the transfer of West Ham captain Declan Rice this summer as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of their return to the Champions League next season.
Reports this month suggest that Arteta hopes to open talks with Rice over a £92million move to North London as soon as West Ham’s season officially ends. The Hammers booked their place in the Conference Europa League final with a 3-1 aggregate win over AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals – with their final game of the season in Prague on Wednesday 7 June.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano recently provided the state of play on Rice’s proposed move to the Gunners. Speaking on YouTube, he said: “Arsenal are now preparing and considering a first bid for Declan Rice. This has not been submitted yet but they are preparing this bid internally, meaning they are waiting to find out how much West Ham want to submit the first offer.
“They will also respect West Ham as they are busy with European football. So straight after the Conference League they will be able to negotiate with West Ham. But the idea is to present a formal offer for Declan Rice in June. Now they are discussing the structure of the offer, it will probably include some add-ons.”
With transfer plans firmly in place ahead of the summer, Gunners legend Gilberto Silva has urged Edu to focus on securing the long-term futures of Bukayo Saka and William Saliba before looking to add new signings to Arteta’s squad. “It’s really important because it’s taken them so long to build such a young and talented team and they can’t afford to lose any of them because it takes time to build that,” Gilberto said Standard sport.
“Now they have a very good team, a very young team that can play for many years together at Arsenal. Therefore, around them, they need to make sure they attract some other talent and not lose many players.
“I think in the past, when I was there, Arsenal suffered a lot during the transition process when we moved to the Emirates because a lot of the best players were sold. Many of the Invincibles left the club and some of the younger players who stepped up also left the club.
“The likes of (Cesc) Fabregas, (Robin) van Persie, (Alexander) Hleb, (Samir) Nasri, they all left the club and that made life so difficult for Arsene (Wenger) and the people at the club. But I’m sure they’ve learned from this time because keeping players will be very important for the future of the club.”
Arsenal activated a one-year contract extension option for Bukayo Saka back in January, with the 21-year-old’s deal now running until the summer of 2024. It is only a matter of time before Saka’s new contract is announced, with negotiations progressing positively behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, talks are still ongoing to extend Saliba’s contract, which is set to expire at the end of next season as things stand. The Frenchman has been ruled out of the Gunners’ remaining two games of the season after being sidelined since March with a back injury – despite Arteta’s reluctance to put a time frame on his return.
When discussing a new contract for Saliba ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Nottingham Forest this weekend, Arteta said: “We are trying. We are having conversations and trying to keep the talent we have at the club, as I said before.
“But things take time. You must agree. There are different countries. I think everyone’s intentions are the same and hopefully we will find the right solution.”
READ THE FOLLOWING:
Every word Mikel Arteta had to say on Saliba’s contract, Xhaka’s future at Arsenal and Martinelli’s injury
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