Former Arsenal man Ray Parlour wants the club to show they have learnt from losing key players in the past by getting the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba on new deals.
These youngsters have established themselves in the current Arsenal first team, and they are one of the reasons the club is at the top of the Premier League table.
In the past, the Gunners have lost key players because they delayed offering them new deals or offer them less than another suitor is willing to.
A famous case is when they lost Ashley Cole to Chelsea because the Blues offered him more money.
Saka, Martinelli and Saliba are being watched by the best clubs around the world, and they will pounce to sign them if we don’t act fast.
Parlour said to TalkSport:
‘We’ve seen it happen so many times at Arsenal where people have gone on free transfers.
‘Back in the day [Robin] van Persie – free transfer more or less. We had to sell him with a year left [on his contract].
‘[Samir] Nasri was in the same situation. So now you’ve got to highlight who you want to keep, who’s your players going forward.’
Just Arsenal Opinion
Parlour played football for a long time, and he knows what he is talking about.
These players are approaching a point in their current deals, which gives them more power to negotiate good ones.
If we act slow, we could be struggling to get their loyalty because a suitor is throwing more cash at them.
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