Arsenal are facing the exit of star midfielder Aaron Ramsey this summer who has signed a very lucrative contract with Juventus which lasts for 4 seasons until June 2023. They’ve faced a number of face-offs in signing players in new deals in the recent past. Henceforth, the management has taken a call that players who are entering into the last 24 months of their contracts and are unwilling to pen a new deal will be sold by the club.
Big names at the club like Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey have held out their contracts for their own personal benefits. Alexis Sanchez left the club with only 6 months remaining on his contract as he made a move to Old Trafford in a swap deal, receiving mammoth wages in return. Mesut Ozil, who’s yet to be one of Unai Emery’s favorites also used the situation to his advantage as he penned down a new contract when the club agreed to pay his staggering wage, which is a record at Arsenal. Aaron Ramsey is seeing out his contract as he has signed a pre- agreement with Juventus in January where’he’ll be a massive £400,000 per week, making him one of the best paid players in the world.
The decision was announced in a fans’ forum meeting where managing director Vinai Venkatesham and director of football Raul Sanllehi were present. Club director Josh Kroenke was present as a surprise guest at the event. The executives told fans that Arsenal need to be more efficient in matters related to player contracts and activities in the transfer market in order to take the Gunners in the forward direction. This decision is key in the reform of Arsenal as they’ll be getting more money to invest in the players that they want in the transfer market.
Players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis will be entering the last 24 months of their contracts this summer with their current contracts all set to expire in 2021. The Gunners are trying to bring in a new sporting director in the coming weeks. Monchi was a target but the Spaniard returned to Sevilla, the club where his work made him famous.
The board reassured fans that they were aiming for silverware and that Unai Emery had full backing to lead the club to success and bring glory back to the Emirates. An important summer lies ahead for the Gunners as the contract situations of the above discussed players are in an interesting situation and it remains to be seen how the revamped Arsenal board handles the situations as they will be looking forward to bringing in fresh faces to build a stronger squad for next season.
Currently in the Europa League semis and 4th in the Premier League, the Gunners can still hope for silverware in Emery’s debut season at The Emirates. However, it will surely not be easy and there will be some tough challenges ahead, as the season draws to a close, with just few matches left to play.
