The Independent report today that Bukayo Saka’s new contract with Arsenal is finalised and set to be announced soon.
The 21 year old has had an outstanding campaign for the Gunners, with 13 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. With a year remaining on the previous deal he signed in 2020, securing his future has been an important objective for the club, and it’s believed that everything has been completed ahead of an upcoming announcement.
Only Gabriel Magalhaes has played more minutes for Arsenal this season, and Mikel Arteta’s faith in the winger is evident. The good news is that he is set to remain a cornerstone of a side that will be playing in next season’s Champions League and which continues to fight for this season’s Premier League.
Meanwhile, The Times report that Aaron Ramsdale is to be offered new terms after his excellent campaign. The 24 year old has kept 13 clean sheet this season, 10 of them away from home, and he has cemented his position as number 1.
The same report also says that new terms with William Saliba could be part of the same batch of contract renewals that include Saka and Ramsdale, with Edu and Richard Garlick working hard behind the scenes to tie down key team members ahead of a summer when recruitment will be the focus.
Fingers crossed we get it all done, then add to the squad well in the off-season.
Have the feeling I read the exact same headline about 15 times over the last 1-2 years. Hope it‘s the last time and next up is a pic with a pen.
Apparently he asked for a pen and Arteta said, “You’ll just miss it”.
Ooohhh.
That’s not going to go down well.
VAR CHECKING COMMENT
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DECISION – TWAT
Yeah, I thought the original comment was offside when I drew the lines, but it was definitely worth posting in order to set up the second.
I would have felt the same way, but I forgot to draw the lines.
Too soon?
Doesn’t even make sense you dweeb.
Pen as in Penalty.
Now who’s the dweeb?
What’s your nickname, bullet 🙂
That was meant for Kentish gooner 😂
True, true. As a Norwegian I’m desperate for Martin to renew also. A good old 8 year contract.
8 year contract are all the rage
Perhaps this is the final finalisation
All great news. Who wouldn’t want to be part of our exciting project. All other big teams are full of aging stars while our squad is fresh and full of potential. The longer they stay together, of course with more excellent additions, the better we will be. It’s amazing! Looking forward to seeing them, especially Saliba, commit even more. Come on Arsenal!
Great news if we can tie them up. It was/is Saliba I was/am most worried about. Best defender in the world at his age, French and you’d imagine PSG might have or must be saying some sweet nonsense to his agent.
That aside I need to read better because why did I read your user name as “De Zerbi” the first time?
Apparently a lot of text recognition when you read quickly is based on the shape of the word, coupled with some internal expectations of what you are supposed to see. This is why road signs are written in propper case rather than ALL CAPS as was suggested and maybe done a bit for cost reasons in the olden days. De Zerbi is similar in shape and arguably more in context of a football blog. Your brain is fine
Thanks a lot. For a moment I thought I needed an eye examination but now I think I don’t De Zerbit
I’d be more concerned about Real Madrid showing interest. They obviously don’t have any centre backs if they’re having to play David Alaba there and Eduardo Camavinga at left back.
Obviously, no one can know for sure but I don’t think PSG is a likely danger. Yes, he’s from Paris and has some connections with the team (specifically Mbappe) and of course the money is a factor. But it means a new manager every year, a new drama every week, i, an often toxic relationship with its own supporters, immense egos and no history of developing young players (Mbappe doesn’t count; he was young, but come on). Also, I think playing for France is important to him, and playing every match for Arsenal is better preparation to Deschamps than rotating… Read more »
Sign da ting Starboy!
Genuine question, is he really worth 300k/week? (thats what I saw the last time this circulated). Is that what players receive nowadays? Vinius jr earns 350k/week.
How much would you have to pay for Saka on the open market?
Genuine answer; of course he fucking is.
Answer: fucking yes.
I’ve thought about that too. We need to figure out some strategy for smoothing out some of the wages in the squad because there’s too much disparity right now. I think Odegaard makes 80k vs. a rumored 300k for Saka. I want to see players rewarded but I also want a sustainable model that doesn’t see us having to sell Saka in three years just to balance the books.
The wages aren’t an issue if you are winning things. If your not competing for the very top, then the wages become an issue as you can’t move players along as no one wants tip top salaries that aren’t winning things. Player values can tumble pretty quickly through lack of performance, think Auba. As you climb into the CL, the stakes are higher, the margin of error less and the rewards are the highest. It feels great to be competitive again. You are correct though, they need to keep top performers like MO happy too, I wouldn’t be surprised to… Read more »
Maybe they are negotiating the contracts to include Champions League ‘bonus money’ so that we don’t end up a Europa League team on a Champions League budget again.
The players will be worth it if the team is qualifying for the CL, but if their levels drop with age and we don’t qualify again (it could even just happen if other teams improve and we have a dip) they won’t be ‘worth’ the wages then, and we may not be able to sell them on.
No risk, no fun
100% he is worth it. As quoted on arsecast yesterday re experience. He has 132 prem apps not including cup games europe and English caps. I don’t want to think about resale but the money he would be offered to leave is probably less than the figure he gets from us.
So, what do you want? We don’t pay him that and then he goes to city? Can you imagine the uproar?
Interesting question. I stress its just my opinion. Purely on delivery and performance in big games and big game mentality (for me one of most imp attributes) Martinelli has done better than Saka.(without factoring in variables like if he needed rest or was he overplayed etc). Then is this a feasible position for Arsenal to get into where(again based on the reports) Martinelli was around 190k but Saka is around 300k. I am ofcourse not privy to the bonuses, conditional bonuses or accumulations. But just on pure weekly pay packet…for me it’s a massive gap and will become hard to… Read more »
You could be right. What is also right is that you pay or lose the player and that negotiation is done time and again and each time under new or unique circumstances. Saka could walk and pick up £300k tomorrow so he gets it.
We can now see the process; it is taking shape nicely. If there is a team poised to break City’s stranglehold on the EPL, it is Arsenal. To do that, this summer business is crucial. If Edu and Co get it right, the EPL trophy will definitely come to Emirates. I don’t think City will be better than what they this season: they have reached something like a zenith. Bernado Silva and Ikay Gondugan are likely to leave; key players have crossed 30 and so on.
CL will make it too hard, this was the year and we blew it my friend.
Let’s hope he finally signs the thing and we can stop talking about it.
He has been terrific for us for more than two years now, but his form has tailed off towards the end of this season. I want to see three big performances from him before he puts his feet up for the summer.
I think Saka is suffering a bit due to the defensive rejig that has meant White isn’t up in support as quickly as before. He’s still putting in a shift though.
I also think the World Cup didn’t help him, he’s played a helluva lot of minutes this season.
True. Arteta shouldn’t have been afraid to rest him for the odd game.
We didn’t have a good replacement for him on the right, something to fix in the transfer window.
Trossard?
Plays mostly left or false 9. He can’t be schrodinger’s backup and cover all attacking positions! We simply need more depth.
We bought Trossard in January and I can dare say he is a good replacement across the front 3 with little or no drop off in quality. Arteta’ was just too timid to use the good weapon at his disposal
10 away clean sheets 🙂
3 home clean sheets ☹️
Did I see correctly the other day. I’m sure I saw during the Newcastle match, that Saka has played a part in the previous 77 league games?
I hope we also sign a quality competition for him because of recent his game has become predictably one-dimensional, almost like Pepe’s.
I think he needs a Raphinha to give him a kick
Make no mistake, this is a pivotal moment in the club’s history.
Our best natural homegrown talent since David Rocastle. He can be the catalyst for this club’s future success in the Champions League, the Premiership and the domestic cups.
Incredible to think how much he has already achieved at 21. With his best years still ahead of him, we have a world class talent on our hands. Thank God we have made top four; I think that was always going to be the difference between him staying and putting pen to paper or plying his trade elsewhere.
I think you’re right about top 4, in fact a few players (both internal and external) have probably been waiting to see that we achieve that goal.
I was a bit too young to really take in Rocastle in his prime so I can’t compare the two, but Saka is undoubtedly the best player I’ve seen to come through our academy and we have to do everything we can to keep him and build a team good enough for him to fulfill his potential.
Rocky was stronger and more direct going for goal, but the similarities in close control dribbling (I would give Saka the edge here, but only just) and even on and off the pitch demeanour is truly magical, almost eerily so.
Many’s the time both myself and Mrs Q have been watching a televised game at the Emirates and Arsenal kicking towards the Clockend – and to see Saka taking on players from the right wing – we’ve turned to each other and both said “Rocky”
Lovely, thanks for the memories.
Hopefully it’s a 7-year contract. Because at 300k a week, I wonder where we’ll go from there if it’s for just 3 years
I’d suggest that when they get to that £300k-a-week level of salary it’s not so much about the salary increase and more about the level of football and possible trophies to be won. I’m not speaking from experience though unfortunately!
If we don’t pay him £300k a week, there are plenty of clubs elsewhere that will….
Huzzah!!! 🎉 🎉 🥳
Time for the Gunners to reload!! Huzzah!! 💣💣🍺🍺