Arsenal has a sketchy history when it comes to player contracts, and the time is fast approaching when they will have to make some hard decisions if they want to avoid mistakes of the past.
According to reports in the media, Arsenal is trying to extend the contracts of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette with significant pay rises and incentives.
I am not really interested in what the club is offering the players, well, that is not wholly correct, what I am not interested in is what is being reported in terms of what the club is offering the players.
The media lost all credibility with their false reports of £40 Million transfer budgets as far as I am concerned.
But there are facts that we all know including that the Aubameyang contract expires in two years and Lacazette’s in three. We also know what the club’s stance is when a player enters the last years of their contract, as per the comments of Head of football Raul Sanllehi and managing director Vinai Venkatesham.
In better words, Aubameyang needs to hurry up and sign an extension or he will be sold by next summer and Lacazette will be in the same boat within the following 12 months.
It is unthinkable that the club gets it wrong with the pair and I am confident they will not. I cannot see a repeat of the Aaron Ramsey situation, as an example. Those days, I believe, are over with.
The media will run with all sorts of speculation and the club will keep everything under wraps until there is something to report officially, and I am fine with that. But I do know that the fans will not be happy if they cock this up, and if either player has to be sold at some point to avoid losing them for free or a much-reduced fee, then so be it.
The sooner this is resolved the better.