Today is the final day that clubs can agree temporary deals with players to see out the remainder of the campaign, with Arsenal yet to confirm on four players.
Three on-loan players in Dani Ceballos, Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari are all yet to have extended their deals as of yet, and the club will be keen to keep the former at the very least.
Mari is unlikely feature again this season, although a deal is believed to be in the works to sign him on a permanent deal, with Coluna de Flo reporting that a deal is already agreed.
His injury may well have strengthened David Luiz’s bargaining chip, with his current contract set to expire this month. There is much speculation around whether the club are willing to, or whether they should even consider, extending his stay at the Emirates, and his disastrous display against Manchester City last Wednesday could well have ended his hopes of continuing his spell in North London.
Luiz may well refuse to extend his contract on a temporary basis today, as he may not be looking forward to becoming a free agent this summer, while Mikel Arteta may well give him the chance to temporarily extend in a bid to prove he is deserving of a new deal. It’s an awkward one…
One player who we should no doubt be keeping on an extended temporary deal is Ceballos. The Spanish midfielder has been a blessing to our options in midfield this term, and despite his clear intention to succeed in Spain, he has reiterated that he wants to see out the season here with us.
One deal I believe I would overlook is Cedric Soares, but I’ve not been blessed with seeing how he is doing in training. The Saints defender is available on a free transfer this summer, and Mikel Arteta may wish to have an extended look at what he can offer on the long-term having been sidelined since joining the club in January.
One more deal which I was worried about was Matt Macey, but Guardian reporter Nick Ames told his Twitter that his deal has another year to run, which will see him see out the season as our back-up to Emiliano Martinez.
Will Arsenal be trying to extend all these deals temporarily? Could Luiz turned down a temporary extension as he looks for a permanent contract?
Patrick
What are u talking about?
Mari has signed full terms and Ceballos will stay for the rest of the campaign
Both unsubstantiated.
I remember watching Ceballos play his first game at the Emirates. I thought, “WOW”, this guy is just what we need. After his second match I thought, “wow”, this guy is average at best!
As for Soares and Mari. I have seen tittle to convince me these are the kind of player we need too. Kind of sums it up really. Our recruitment has been woeful for years..
Couldn’t disagree with you more regarding ceballos..he was invisible against Brighton and has become more so each game..was a hopeful prospect when he came but that has faded like his influence..Let him go for sure.
If Arteta keeps Luiz my heart will stop..he even makes me like Mustafi ..and xhaka, I just don’t know who drives me more insane..him or Luiz..and when they’re both playing..dang!
I’m more worried about keeping Saka and Martinelli.
Ceballos has made a negligible contribution this season in my opinion and together with Luis and Soares I would not think of extending their contracts.The situation with Mari is unfortunate, but on the assumption that we can get rid of Sokratis, Mustafi and Luis I would not be averse to signing him on a permanent basis.
Ceballos has had a couple of decent games and a lot of mediocre ones. Right now though, not sure if we have much better as an option.
He is a good example of where we stand right now and how our purchasing has been so poor (and he is by no means the worst) – we can definitely do better in the position if we can get someone to come or can pay a reasonable amount. Maybe we need to start shopping away from Mayfair (maybe a poor allusion to Barcelona) and check out Marks and Spencers.
Soares and Mari fit the bill nicely as they are injured. We should probably pay more for them. Wouldn’t want to see us break up our solid pattern.
Agree with Ozzie, would be more worried about Saka and especially Martinelli now – he can’t be interested in staying if he can’t even get into our pretty crappy team.
Stewart
I nice bit of sarcasm thrown in there!
The truth is we wont miss any of them.
Reggie, I agree with Ee have good academy players why not blood them in now the season finished as far as Arsenal give the kids a chance instead of wasting money on players we don’t need, A DM AND A C/Half why is Arteta keep looking foe wingers when he has them under his nose
Luiz contract extension incoming… So that’s another season wasted then. 😴
Yep, just saw on Twitter…
Can you believe it?!
tragic stuff 😥
What a rollercoaster of emotions during 10 minutes on Twitter!
Euphoria over Leno…. depths of despair over Martinelli…. then Luiz’s contract….. my oh my oh my……crushed!
A day in the life of a gooner….