Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has called on the club to ensure that both Bukayo Saka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sign new contracts.

As thing stands, the pair can leave the club when their current deals expire at the end of next season, and Arteta wants the Gunners to secure new agreements with the two players as soon as possible:

“We are trying, as a club, to finalise the deals that are more urgent and are a priority for us. The ones you are talking about [Saka and Aubameyang] – they are both really important, not just for now but for the future of the club as well and if the club has something to announce, they will do it in the right moment.”

It is slightly concerning that Arteta seems to be out of the loop in terms of the negotiations to keep the pair. He uses the word ‘if’ rather than ‘when’ in terms of possible announcements which suggests he isn’t sure whether either player will sign on the dotted line.

As head coach, he will be leaving talks to Head of Football Raul Sanllehi and Chief Executive Vinai Venkatesham but we have already heard from Aubameyang who is yet to be convinced about the future ambitions of the club.

Arteta has since said there have been “positive” talks with the Arsenal captain but there is no word on progress in discussions with Saka, who has been linked with Liverpool, Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund over the past few months.