Arsenal football club have extended the contract of the club’s former captain Granit Xhaka after a series of back and forth between him and the club’s management.
Recall that Granit Xhaka has not been having it good with some hierarchy of the club since he stormed out of the pitch in the Premier League game between Arsenal and Crystal Palace on 27 October 2019 due to the negative reaction of the club’s fans towards him then.
After that incident, he was not in the good books of the former coach of the club, Unai Emery who gave the captaincy role of the club to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
When Emery was sacked and was replaced by Mikel Arteta, the Spanish coach maintained the status quo which did not go down well with the 28-year-old Swiss football star.
However, Granit Xhaka continued to exhibit professionalism whenever he is called upon to play for Arsenal. His dedication to the team is gradually returning him to the centre stage of the club.
Recently, when the contract extension talks between him and Arsenal were going on, it was reported that Italian Serie A club, Roma were interested in his services.
Despite how viral the speculation went, Granit Xhaka did not mention anything about the speculation. On the part of coach Mikel Arteta, the Spanish tactician has always insisted that Xhaka is part of his plans.
Initially, the contract of the Switzerland international was might to expire on June 30, 2023, but Arsenal decided to extend it by a year which means that Xhaka’s new contract with Arsenal will expire in 2024 with an option of further extension.
Meanwhile, FC Barcelona are reportedly interested in the current captain of Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who was absent in Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of newly-promoted Brentford.
It was reported that Aubameyang was absent in the Premier League game because he was ill. The same excuse was given for the absence of Alexandre Lacazette in the Premier League opener.
According to reports, FC Barcelona intend to offer Arsenal their out-of-favor midfielder Philippe Coutinho in part exchange for the Gabonese striker.
The Spanish club intend to make this deal amidst serious financial complications that have made it difficult for the club to register some of their new signings this summer.
Recently, the president of Barcelona Joan Laporta revealed that the club are £1.15bn in debt which means that they might have little or no money to execute a new deal.
The striker they reportedly intend to sign, Aubameyang, is 32-year-old and is still contracted with Arsenal until June 30, 2024.
Barcelona are currently not negotiating for Pierre Aubameyang from Arsenal as new striker. He’s not a target now, priority is to sell players. 🔴🔵 @mattemoretto #FCB #AFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 16, 2021
Still no bid or talks for Clement Lenglet. Umtiti (NO Benfica) and Pjanic situation to be clarified soon.
