Arsenal are 'proactively' working to extend the contracts of Hale End stars Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka, according to a report.
Under the wing of outgoing sporting director Edu - whose shock resignation was announced a few weeks ago - Arsenal have successfully agreed new long-term deals with their core players.
Saka is one of those fundamental cogs to have put pen to paper over the last couple of years, committing himself to the club until 2027 in May 2023, while Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Ben White, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard have all extended their stays too.
Arsenal are not believed to be rushing the search for Edu's replacement and could wait until the season is done and dusted before hiring a successor, having put their full faith in current interim chief Jason Ayto.
One of Ayto's jobs appears to be retaining two of Arsenal's most celebrated Hale End products, as football.london reports that the Gunners are already putting plans in place to extend Saka and Nwaneri's terms.
Arsenal 'wary' of Saka contract situation?
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The latter penned his first professional contract in North London just after turning 17 in March 2024, one-and-a-half years after becoming the youngest-ever player in the Premier League at the age of 15 years and 181 days.
The England Under-19 international is now enjoying a breakthrough season in Mikel Arteta's first team, scoring four goals in 10 appearances, including his first Premier League strike at home to Nottingham Forest last weekend.
Meanwhile, even though Saka's terms have another three years left to run, Arsenal are apparently 'wary' of allowing the winger to enter the last two years of his terms, as was the case before his last renewal.
Saka's previous terms were due to run out in the summer of 2024, and the 23-year-old was about to enter the last 12 months of his agreement before he and his camp accepted a renewal offer.
Liverpool and Manchester City were both rumoured to be monitoring developments closely while Saka's future was somewhat uncertain, but the Gunners were never concerned about the possibility of losing their star attacker.
Which Arsenal players are out of contract in 2025?
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While Nwaneri and Saka can expect to receive lucrative renewal offers in the near future, some of Arsenal's old guard are about to enter the last six months of their terms, including injury-hit midfielder Thomas Partey.
The Ghana international - who picked up a fresh muscular injury before Saturday's trip to West Ham United - will be free to enter negotiations with foreign teams over a pre-contract agreement if he does not extend his stay between now and January.
Partey is still on the same terms he accepted when he joined from Atletico Madrid in 2020 and has previously been linked with moves to Saudi Arabia and Juventus, although he remains a crucial cog in Arteta's system when fully fit.
Jorginho could also leave for nothing in 2025, although the one-year extension he signed at the end of last season includes a 12-month option until the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
Meanwhile, Leandro Trossard, Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko are all due to become free agents at the end of next season.
Ben Knapton
