Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been dealt a bitter blow in contract negotiations, with The Times claiming two more players have turned down the chance to renew their contracts.
Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck have deals with Arsenal until the summer of 2018, but latest reports suggest they may go into the last year of their contracts before any progress is made.
Ramsey has been a key player for Arsenal this season, scoring and creating 11 goals in 15 Premier League. The 26-year-old joined from Cardiff City in 2011, and has gone on to make 314 appearances for the Gunners.
While making no public claim that he wants to leave Arsenal, Ramsey stalling on a new deal is bad news for Wenger, and it could get worse with Welbeck’s future also up in the air.
The 27-year-old will also be out of contract in 2019, but he’s found himself on the periphery for a lot of this season. Signed from Manchester United in 2014, Welbeck has struggled for consistency due to his injury-laden three years at Arsenal – something Wenger admitted.
Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere are out of contract next summer, and Arsenal could lose a further nine first-team players the following year if they fall to agree terms on as new deal.
Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Nacho Monreal, Petr Cech, David Ospina, Mathieu Debuchy and Chuba Akpom are the other seven players with just 18 months left on their respective deals. There’s no suggestion that a contract extension looms.
Arsene Wenger’s contract expires that same summer, and he risks leaving his successor with a decimated squad unless Huss Famhy can get more Arsenal players to put pen to paper.
The Gunners could lose a lot of value from the squad if they can’t at cash in on the deadwood, but tying down their key players has been made a priority.
Stats from Transfermarkt.
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