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Arsenal taking ‘longer-term view’ of contracts for key players to avoid issues of the past
Arsenal’s director of football operations has revealed work is already being done to tie down players with contracts running out in 2023.
The north London club have suffered in the past with stars running down their deals, and either leaving for free or securing huge-money extensions due at the last minute, due to the club’s desperation to keep them.
A decision still needs to be made on Alexandre Lacazette, who is out of contract in the summer.
But Richard Garlick, who joined the club in May and plays a significant role in player recruitment, is hopeful Arsenal’s long-term planning will now stand them in better stead.
“We are obviously between transfer windows at the moment, but an area that’s ongoing is contract renewals, and we are always looking ahead at players who might be coming to the end of their deals,” Garlick told the club’s official website.
“Both in the near future but also 18 months or two years down the line.
“We get a plan in place, then we start to execute it. That’s happening now for next summer, and the one after that.
“It’s a longer-term view. We have a strategy for each player depending on their situation.”
Garlick was involved in the club’s summer transfer window, which saw Arsenal sign six players who were all 23 or younger when they joined.
Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, and Takehiro Tomiyasu have arrived and had an immediate positive impact on the team’s defence, and Garlick is extremely satisfied with the work done in the summer.
“The first-team plan was executed very well, I’d say 90 to 95 per cent of what we wanted to do got done,” Garlick said.
“It was a difficult market, but we had a plan and we stuck to it. We have got a lot of good people behind the scenes at the club.
“They are very diligent, very professional, very hard-working so it all came together well in the end.”
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