Arsenal have stated before that they don’t want to let players’ contracts run into two seasons remaining. Sign or be sold.

Complications: players content on high salaries - particularly older ones

Here are the players on our roster with 2 years or less remaining.

THREAD
End of 2020-21:
• Macey
• Sokratis
• Mustafi
• Luiz
• Özil
• Aubameyang
End of 2021-22:
• Eneny
• Martínez
• Chambers
• Kolasinac
• Guendouzi
• Lacazette
• Nketiah
I doubt the club will sort out all of these contracts one way or another, but I imagine there will be a push to change some of the ones for 21-22
To put into context, here are the reported annual salaries for them that I can find (bare in mind this is the amount that the player reportedly receives not the amount it costs the club which is considerably more due to NIC/PAYE etc.)
End of 2020-21:
• Macey (£0.26m)
• Sokratis (£4.8m)
• Mustafi (£4.7m)
• Luiz (£5m)
• Özil (£18.2m)
• Aubameyang (£10.4m)

Total ‘expiring’ end of 2020-21 (~ 43m) [remember the reported salary figures do not include all wage costs to Arsenal)
End of 2021-22:
• Eneny (£2.6m)
• Martínez (£1m)
• Chambers (£2.6m)
• Kolasinac (£5.2m)
• Guendouzi (£2.1m)
• Lacazette (£9.5m)
• Nketiah (£0.8m)

Total ‘expiring’ end of 2021-22 (~ 24m) [remember the reported salary figures do not include all wage costs to Arsenal)
Hypothetically, if *all* these players were released, that would be £67m off our wage bill in 2 years.

Obviously that’s not going to happen, but it is important to contextualise how we’ve been managed re contracts in recent years (remember we’ve not been in UCL for a while)
Also maybe important to note that once FFP rules are back, unless we increase our income (complicated by covid match day revenue & no UCL), we may only be allowed to increase wage bill by £7m/season to be compliant. In context, that’s less than Kolasinac + Elneny for a year
The relaxation of the FFP rules this summer makes it a pretty important one to spend on players that will be our spine. It also means it is vital to sort out the contract issues coming at the end of the next 2seasons, as some we will want to keep -AUBA- while others gone - Özil
Personally out of the players whose contracts expire in the next two years, I’d extend:

• Aubameyang
• Martínez
• Nketiah

There are others I’d consider extending, but there’s a case that a better replacement could be found
Players whose contracts expire at the end of the 2022-23 season:

• Leno (£5.2m)
• Xhaka (£5.2m)
• Bellerín (£5.7m)
• Holding (£1.3m)
• AMN (£1.8m)
• Torreira (£3.9m)
• Nelson (£1.6)
• Willock (£0.6m)
It would seem that the club need to make a decision on:

• 2 cbs (Saliba and Marí on long contracts)
• 1 backup left back
• at least one creative midfielder

After these positions are sorted we will have a more long-term orientated squad
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