Arsenal is already working to tie down some of their important players to new contracts.
The Gunners have been busy in recent transfer windows, but they also don’t want to lose their vital players.
In the summer, AS Roma was keen to add Granit Xhaka to their squad (TalkSport), but Arsenal fought to keep him at the Emirates and the Gunners handed him a new contract until 2024.
That was a clear sign they will not allow other clubs to sign their top players.
Director of football operations, Richard Garlick has now opened up on their plans to ensure important players approaching the end of their contracts are given new ones.
“We are obviously between transfer windows at the moment, but an area that’s ongoing is contract renewals, and we are always looking ahead at players who might be coming to the end of their deals,” Garlick told the club’s official website.
“Both in the near future but also 18 months or two years down the line.
“We get a plan in place, then we start to execute it. That’s happening now for next summer, and the one after that.
“It’s a longer-term view. We have a strategy for each player depending on their situation.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
This approach to players’ contract management at Arsenal is smart and shows the club knows what it is doing.
Allowing key players to reach the last year of their deals has cost the club some outstanding talents in the past.
With this approach, players who refused to sign contract extensions will be identified in time and sold when their market value is high.