Arsenal expiring contracts: Who is free to leave in 2027 and 2028?

Arsenal's wide-scale rebuild under Mikel Arteta, Edu, Andrea Berta and others finally bore fruit in the 2025-26 season, when the Gunners ended a 22-year wait for another Premier League title.

Arteta and sporting director Berta oversaw a major summer of spending in 2025, when Arsenal invested heavily in squad depth, while the club subsequently generated significantly more from player sales in 2026 despite spending more than £100m on Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis alone.

The Champions League runners-up are now expected to adopt a ruthless approach when it comes to playing personnel, either by opting not to renew contracts or offloading fringe names for respectable fees.

This no-nonsense stance has seen Arsenal break their long-standing all-time sale record by offloading Gabriel Martinelli to Al-Hilal for over £50m, and having also sold Christian Norgaard, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson and Leandro Trossard, there are remarkably no Arsenal players who are due to become free agents in 2027.

Instead, Sports Mole takes a look at the Arsenal players whose contracts expire in the summer of 2028.

Which Arsenal players are out of contract in 2028?

Kepa Arrizabalaga

Age: 31

Position: Goalkeeper

Transfer value: £4.3m

Joined: July 1, 2025

Joining fee: £5m

Arsenal appearances: 13

Arsenal clean sheets: 4

Honours

Premier League (1): 2025-26

Backup goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is already in the final two years of his contract, and a summer exit in 2027 is not beyond the realm of possibility following Illan Meslier's arrival.

David Raya

Age: 30

Position: Goalkeeper

Transfer value: £25.3m

Joined: August 15, 2023

Joining fee: £27m

Arsenal appearances: 154

Arsenal clean sheets: 71

Honours

Premier League (1): 2025-26

Kepa's superior David Raya could also leave for nothing in 2028, but an extension is incredibly likely for a player regarded as one of the world's best in his position.

Illan Meslier

Age: 26

Position: Goalkeeper

Transfer value: £6.9m

Joined: July 9, 2026

Joining fee: Free

Arsenal appearances: 0

Arsenal clean sheets: 0

Honours

None

Illan Meslier signed a two-year deal upon his Arsenal arrival in 2026, with an option for a third year, meaning his longer-term future will depend partly on how he develops behind David Raya.

Tommy Setford

Age: 20

Position: Goalkeeper

Transfer value: £0.4m

Joined: July 21, 2024

Joining fee: £770k

Arsenal appearances: 2

Arsenal clean sheets: 2

Honours

None

The fourth Arsenal shot-stopper out of contract in 2028, Tommy Setford left on loan for Stevenage in the 2026 summer window in order to gain valuable first-team experience.

Kai Havertz

Age: 27

Position: Striker

Transfer value: £47.1m

Joined: July 1, 2023

Joining fee: £64.2m

Arsenal appearances: 118

Arsenal goals: 39

Honours

Premier League (1): 2025-26
Community Shield (2): 2023, 2026

Kai Havertz is yet to be rewarded with an Arsenal extension since signing from Chelsea in 2023, and there are growing doubts as to whether he will stick around for the long-term given his injury problems.

Martin Odegaard

Age: 27

Position: Attacking midfielder

Transfer value: £59.9m

Joined: January 27, 2021

Joining fee: £29.9m

Arsenal appearances: 242

Arsenal goals: 46

Honours

Premier League (1): 2025-26
Community Shield (2): 2023, 2026

Similarly, club captain Martin Odegaard has endured a rough time with his fitness in the past two seasons, and a sale in the not-so-distant future is not impossible.

Ben White

Age: 28

Position: Right-back

Transfer value: £25.7m

Joined: July 30, 2021

Joining fee: £50m

Arsenal appearances: 198

Arsenal goals: 7

Honours

Premier League (1): 2025-26
Community Shield (2): 2023, 2026

Another experienced Arsenal performer who has unfortunately experienced a raft of injury problems too, Ben White could very well be allowed to leave in 2027 after six years of stellar service.

Mikel Merino

Age: 30

Position: Midfielder

Transfer value: £21.4m

Joined: August 27, 2024

Joining fee: £27.4m

Arsenal appearances: 85

Arsenal goals: 16

Honours

Premier League (1): 2025-26

One of Arsenal's resident clutch performers, Mikel Merino is in the last 24 months of his contract, but a short-term extension is a possibility if he continues to come up with crucial contributions.

Declan Rice

Age: 27

Position: Midfielder

Transfer value: £102.7m

Joined: July 15, 2023

Joining fee: £99.8m

Arsenal appearances: 165

Arsenal goals: 21

Honours

Premier League (1): 2025-26
Community Shield (2): 2023. 2026

Undoubtedly Arsenal's priority for a new contract, Declan Rice's current terms contain a one-year option to 2029, but a brand-new, long-term and improved deal is in the pipeline.

Jurrien Timber

Age: 25

Position: Right-back

Transfer value: £59.9m

Joined: July 14, 2023

Joining fee: £34.2m

Arsenal appearances: 97

Arsenal goals: 6

Honours

Premier League (1): 2025-26
Community Shield (1): 2023

Indispensable to Mikel Arteta when fully fit, Jurrien Timber's body let him down towards the end of 2025-26, but a new contract should still be agreed in due course.