Arsenal Players' Contracts

I've looked at the current Arsenal players' contracts and when they expire. It'll be interesting to see which players people think we should keep and which players we should let go of/sell on.

I've highlighted the ones in bold whose current deals expires at the end of this season:

Aaron Ramsey - 2019
Danny Welbeck - 2019
Nacho Monreal - 2019
Petr Cech - 2019
David Ospina - 2019
Stephan Leichsteiner - 2019

Carl Jenkinson (yes, he's really still on the books!) - 2020
Laurent Koscielny - 2020

Sokratis - 2021
Mesut Ozil - 2021
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 2021
Shkodran Mustafi - 2021

Emiliano Martinez - 2022
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang - 2022
Alexandre Lacazette - 2022
Sead Kolasinac - 2022
Mohamed Elneny - 2022
Matteo Guendouzi - 2022

Bernd Leno - 2023
Hector Bellerin - 2023
Ainsley Maitland-Niles - 2023
Rob Holding - 2023
Lucas Torreira - 2023
Granit Xhaka - 2023
Alex Iwobi - 2023
Konstantinos Mavrapanos - 2023

 

I'll give my opinions:

Aaron Ramsey - if rumours are true that he wants wage parity with Ozil, then he will have to start performing a lot better than he has been currently. He has done ok so far this season. But 'ok' isn't enough to be earning £350k a week. I like Ramsey and think he has a lot to offer us, but if his form doesn't pick up, I won't be too fussed if he goes elsewhere. He has been quite inconsistent over the last few years.

Verdict: 50/50

Danny Welbeck - I actually think he is a very useful squad player. Pace, athleticism, strength and a good work-rate. Unfortunately, his finishing leaves a lot to be desired, but he is good off the bench/in League Cup/Europa games. If he was willing to take a pay cut and accept being a rotational player, then I wouldn't mind keeping him. But he's going to be 28 this season, wants first team action and still wants to have an England future. So I think he will be moved on in the Summer.

Verdict: Let go.

Nacho Monreal - Despite being 32, he's been very consistent for us. A solid left-back who's become more of a goal threat in recent years. I'd be willing to extend his deal for another year.

Verdict: Keep.

Petr Cech - been a fantastic servant for the Premier League and had a decent first season for us. But he's clearly not the 'keeper he once was. He'll be 37 when the season ends and isn't exactly getting better. I think his time is coming to an end. Personally, I think he should be let go.

Verdict: Let go.

David Ospina - His contract essentially finishes when his season-long loan from Napoli does, so he's definitely not gonna be here by next season.

Verdict: Let go.

Stephan Lichsteiner - Haven't seen him play enough to formulate an opinion, but he still looks like a handy player to have in the squad. Did well when he came on vs Man City. I guess we'll have to see.

Verdict: Jury still out.

 

As for some of the other players:

Koscielny said he will be leaving when his current deal expires in 2021, Elneny and Xhaka should be moved on, Jenkinson also needs to be moved on (ridiculous he's still at the club).

If Ozil doesn't perform this season, I would suggest we try to sell him. But on the money he's earning, it will be difficult to flog him off. Unless it's in China, Russia or the Middle East.

 

Aaron Ramsey - Keep
Danny Welbeck - Let go
Nacho Monreal - Keep
Petr Cech - Let go
David Ospina - Let go
Stephan Leichsteiner - Keep

 

If Kos goes then we should be looking at getting another CB. We've got plenty of time to do that seeing as he's given us the heads up about it.

Xhaka needs to be sold. He's been with us long enough to show what he's got and it's not good enough. We could probably get £15-20m for him to put towards another CM. I'd actually keep Elneny though, he's a decent squad player. And although he doesn't excel at anything in particular, he's a tidy enough defensive player to bring on when needed and provide cover for in League/FA cup games.

As for Ozil, I think this is make or break season for him under Emery. I actually like what I've seen of him so far because I think he's working harder and that's because Emery seems to have told him that he wants more work rate out of him. £350k is a massive wage though and he's not earning that atm. Still needs to up his game and be more effective in the big games.

 

To be honest, all those players you mentioned can go, except Monreal who has been consistent for us. None of them are really key players and it wouldn't be catastrophic if they left. If i was going to pick a player other than Monreal to keep it would be Ramsey, but it's hard to justify him getting a huge pay rise. He really hasn't hit a level that would put him in the top bracket of midfielders in the world, he's more mid-level PL than top 4. I'd rather sell him off and grab Cesc on a free next season.

 

Yeah would agree with that.

 

One thing is obvious - we are crap at selling players! (used to be good at it thou!)

 

The bit highlighted in bold is key - none of these players would be major losses really and truly. Not in the same way that Fabregas, van Persie, Sanchez etc were for us anyway. None of the aforementioned players have had that level of influence.

Ramsey's scored two FA Cup final winners and has had a few purple patches with his goalscoring, but apart from the outstanding 2013/14 season, where everything clicked for him, he's never hit those heights since. That said, he is still a good player to have in the team, but he hasn't performed to anywhere near an elite level.

Monreal deserves to stay for at least one more year and hasn't showed any signs of major decline, but I think left-back is a position we need to be looking at to recruit for as, quite frankly, I'm not sure if Kolasinac has a future at the club, particularly after his latest setback.

Looks like there will be even more changes come next Summer!

 

I'd be tempted to put an offer in for Luke Shaw. Would be tough trying to negotiate with Maureen though.

 

I wanted Andy Robertson before he went to Liverpool, as he looked a class above when he was at Hull, but that ship has already sailed now...

I think Leicester's Ben Chillwell looks an exciting prospect and has always impressed me whenever I've seen them play. Might cost a lot, but it'd be worth it in the long run IMO.

 

Always rated Shaw. He just needs s decent run in the side. Would happily take him at Arsenal.

Talking about stealing players from rivals I would also like to see us make a sneaky move for Loftus Cheek. Think he would be a quality signing.

 

How about this guy?



Ferland mendy!

 

Closer to home there is the versatile Ryan Sessegnon.

 

Would be a very good purchase but we will be outbid

 

Probably twice the price than Mendy because he is English. Plus isn't Ryan playing more like a winger rather than a left back?

 

Ramsey is the one that is contentious. His big problem is that he is not outstanding at anything. While not being bad at anything is a strength, there are plenty of players that are not bad at anything and are also outstanding at something. At the top level that is more or less a requirement.

Personally, I think people should be on his case more than they are on Ozil's case. At the level we play, I think staying mistake free isn't enough, you have to be doing something positive and he has too many games where he doesn't show up on the highlights anywhere.

 

Yeah agree, when Ramsey came through the ranks he was fast tracked because he had an outstanding range of passing. He was basically considered a playmaker similar to Fabregas who had a decent long range shot on him.

In 2013 he had that 'break through' Season where he scored a good number of goals - In a way it was the worst thing to happen to him because he changed his style from then on.(and his passing game never moved forward) He never sits in midfield anymore, he thinks he's Stephen Gerrard but he's not a great tackler and doesnt actually score many goals.

 

When you see how Chambers, Wilshere, Walcott, Campbell etc.. are doing now that they've left Arsenal for smaller Clubs (not well) it's even clearer we had too many sub-par players in the squad that were over-rated by us fans.

I still feel Mustafi, Elneny and possibly also Iwobi/Wellbeck would make little impact at Clubs like Everton/WestHam should they move. They are certainly not good enough for a TOP side.

Torreira, Aubemeyang, Guendouzi and Lacazette are all moves in the right direction for the Club but I hope Emery/Minislat are abit more ruthless when it comes to cutting the dead wood.

 

I know they're not reliable sources, but The Mirror and Daily Mail are reporting that Ramsey is set to leave Arsenal either in January or in the Summer.

If these rumours are to be believed, he'd apparently be willing to sign an extension if we improve the contract terms. But the club aren't willing to budge and feel like what he's been offered already is more than fair.

I've said before that I'm not too fussed if he ends up going. It's not like he's had a Sanchez/RvP/Fabregas level of impact for us during his somewhat injury-plagued time at the club.

Since Emery's come in, he's not performed brilliantly, either. Though I accept part of that may be because he's been put in different positions across midfield or out wide.

If he's expecting to have his wage packed doubled, the club would not be out of line in sticking two fingers up at him and booting him out the door.

A decent player, with occasional moments of class, is the best way he can be described.