Arsenal: £120k-a-week star 'will be offered improved deal' at the Emirates

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·1 October 2023

Arsenal: £120k-a-week star 'will be offered improved deal' at the Emirates

Highlights

Arsenal has successfully extended the contracts of key players like Saliba, Saka, Odegaard, and Martinelli, which reflects the club's upward trajectory and the culture Arteta is building.
While most of the Arsenal squad are already on long-term deals, Ben White is likely to be offered an improved contract based on financial parity and his contribution to the project.
After securing the key player signatures, the next in line could be manager Arteta, who has played a key part in changing the club's fortunes and improving their style of play.

Arsenal have been working tirelessly to tie down some of their key stars over the last few years, and journalist Ben Jacobs has provided some information to GIVEMESPORT from inside the club on who could be next in line.

Convicting players to commit their long-term futures to the Gunners could be just as important as making new signings.

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It's been a busy year for Arsenal who have achieved a lot of success in extending the contracts of some of their best players at the club. William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Reiss Nelson have all signed on the dotted line at the Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta and his team will have found it easier to convince their players of the project after such an impressive season, where they were pipped to the Premier League title by Manchester City late on.

As a result of their forward planning, only Jorginho, who has the option for a further year, Mohamed Elneny and Cedric Soares's contracts are set to expire next summer. Cedric and Elneny are yet to play a single minute in England's top flight this campaign, so the Gunners are in a strong position. The following year, just Thomas Partey, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Karl Hein will be departing unless an extension is signed, which again, highlights the strategy and plan the north London club have in place.

Although Arsenal fans will likely be more excited by the prospect of new players joining the club, their current stars committing their future must be a good feeling. The culture Arteta is currently building and the upward trajectory the club is on makes Arsenal an attractive club to ply their trade.

Now the likes of Saliba, Saka, Odegaard, and Martinelli have been tied down and the fact that most of the Arsenal squad are already on long-term deals, there's no real rush to head to the negotiating table. However, Ben White, who signed for the club for a fee of £50m, could be next in line to receive a new deal.

Jacobs has suggested that although Arsenal don't have to worry about White with his contract valid until 2026, he's likely to be the next player to be offered improved terms. The journalist adds that the Gunners are rewarding their players as time goes on, and White is likely to receive a new deal based on financial parity. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said...

"Yeah, I think so. Ben White, bit of a fan favourite, and no real panic from Arsenal's perspective, because he's contracted until 2026. So they don't need to extend purely based upon contract time diminishing at this stage, he's very well protected as far as the club is concerned. But when you have a flurry of top performers and a flurry of contract renewals, then you risk to some extent having an odd one out if you don't proceed as the project improves and Champions League football comes, to reward players that you see who are part of the project. And that's why it's likely that Ben White will be offered improved terms, and this one, unlike for example, William Saliba, will be very much about financial parity and incentivising a player with a well deserved new deal, if it happens."

Who could be next in line after Ben White?

After securing the signatures of the majority of their key stars, it wouldn't be a surprise if manager Arteta was next in line. As per Football Transfers, the Gunners opened talks to extend his deal back in May, but we're yet to see an official announcement. The Spanish boss has played a key part in changing Arsenal's fortunes around over the last few years.

Although the north London club didn't win a trophy last season, the improvement in their style of play and performances was clear for anyone to see. Whether they're capable of pushing Man City all the way for the Premier League title remains to be seen, but you'd imagine they will be right up there come the end of the campaign. It's not been a perfect start to the term despite some impressive results, but there's no doubt Arteta will have the full backing of the board.