Arsenal was involved in a lot of paper works on Tuesday as the club successfully offered three of its players – David Luiz, Cedric Soares, Pablo Mari new contracts. This means that the defending lineup of the Gunners will have little or no difference as from next season.
David Luiz whose future at the club has been uncertain due to his recent regressive performance especially in their first game against Manchester City at the restart of the season where he cost the club two goals, was given a one year deal. The 33-year-old Brazilian defender has been a member of the Arsenal’s squad since 2016 when he joined from France Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint Germain.
With the contract extension, David Luiz has joined the list of notable players at the club whose contracts will expire at the end of the 2020-2021 season. Other major stars at the club who fall to this category include Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis.
In the case of Cedric Soares, the 28-year-old defender joined Arsenal on loan from Premier League side Southampton this season after going through the same process at Inter Milan the previous season. He has signed a four-year contract with the club which will extend his stay in London until 2024.
Arsenal took advantage of the fact that his contract with Southampton had expired and he was a free agent as at Tuesday to offer him the contract before the end of the day.
While Pablo Mari who is currently suffering an injury at his ankle ligaments has been at the club since January on loan from Spanish La Liga side Flamengo. The 26-year-old central defender also signed a four-year contract which will keep him at Arsenal until 2024.
As at the time of publishing this report, the financial details of the contracts have not been made public by the club but these deals are pointers that clubs are trying to play safely in the transfer market due to the coronavirus pandemic which has affected their finances.
Meanwhile, Arsenal has reportedly placed Rob Holding and Mustafi for sell this summer as they are also expecting 19-year-old defender William Saliba who is on loan at Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne, to join the club at the end of the season.
The coach of the club, Mikel Arteta, would be a little bit happy that he has been able to keep these players as he has always wanted. He will also hope that the captain of the team Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stays beyond the end of this season.
