Arsenal’s three players whose contracts are set to expire this summer have received the latest information from Mikel Arteta.
Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Cedric, Gabriel, and Martin Odegaard scored for Arsenal in a 5-1 win over Everton on Sunday to round off a successful season but sadly it was not enough to send them to the Champions League next season as Spurs breezed past Norwich with a 5-0 win.
Despite the fact that their contracts at the Emirates expire at the end of the season, Nketiah, Alexandre Lacazette, and Eddie Nketiah all played in the game. After the game, Arteta revealed that decisions on all of their future had already been taken.
“I’ll meet with the three players now or tomorrow, and then we’ll start moving forward,” the Spanaird said in his post-match press conference. “We’ve made up our minds on what we want to do.”
When asked if decisions about the trio’s future had been made, Arteta revealed that the club had decided on their course of action with each player some time ago. “It’s been determined,” he continued, “but communicating it is really tough.”
“They are entitled to a little bit of what they had here today. It’s quite awkward to do it early, one way or another, with three decisions like that, and it could damage the team. As a club, we must do the right thing at the right time, and combining the two is not always easy. However, we will make every effort to do the right thing.”
Lacazette is expected to depart North London, Sports Deputy understands, as the player appeared to wave goodbye to Arsenal fans after Sunday’s win. Meanwhile, reports claim that Elneny may be handed a new contract, as Arteta repeated his wish to keep Nketiah.
“When you watch Eddie train like that, you don’t think he needs to play,” the Spaniard added. “You know you have a player on your side who will assist you. When you look at his statistics and the number of games he’s played, it’s incredible.”