IAN WRIGHT has serious fears over the futures of three Arsenal stars – who he reckons could RUN DOWN their contracts with the club.
The north Londoners’ slim hopes of winning their first Premier League title since the 2003-04 season went up in smoke last weekend as they fell 11 points behind table-toppers Liverpool thanks to a 1-0 defeat to West Ham.
Arsenal’s slim title hopes went up in smoke against West Ham[/caption]
The contract of crocked winger Bukayo Saka expires in the summer of 2027[/caption]
As do the current deals Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are on[/caption]
The ending of the Gunners’ title hopes comes just weeks after manager Mikel Arteta failed to land a new striker to alleviate his attacking woes.
The decision prompted many of the Emirates faithful, including Wright, to question the club’s ambitions in the transfer market.
And Wright believes a continued lack of ambition could prompt stars Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba to hold off signing new deals.
During the latest episode of Wrighty’s House podcast, he said: “When you’re talking about renewals with certain players, Saka, Gabriel [Magalhaes], Saliba, the way they’re moving now, I bet those renewals are all going to be slow,’ Wright said.
“We’re going to have a situation maybe like Liverpool with Trent, Salah and Virgil.
“If I’m one of these players, and their teams are going to be saying, ‘Let’s wait and see, we’ve got two years left so let’s wait and see who they get in the summer.
“‘I know the manager has signed again but let’s wait and see.’
“If they’re not going to get the kind of players that take us to the next step, look at Saliba. Real Madrid would take him tomorrow.
“Why not wait and see what’s going on in the summer to see the kind of players and calibre of player we’re signing. This is what the people upstairs need to be careful of.”
Wright, the Gunners’ former all-time leading goalscorer, believes his fears are also shared by Arteta.
He continued: “I’m sure Mikel will have told them that because he’s probably got the same kind of ambition.
“‘If you’re not going to give me the kind of players I need, I’m not going to be able to keep the players I’ve got here that are our best players, who are now running down their contracts.
“We haven’t even got into that conversation yet about these players.
“This summer and who comes is f***ing vitally important to these players.
“‘There’s a lot going on right now that needs to be unpacked by these people upstairs and they better get it right. They better get it right.”
Magalhaes, Saka and Saliba’s respective multi-million-pound contracts at the Emirates all expire in the summer of 2027.
Arsenal will be back in action on Wednesday night, travelling to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest.
Ian Wright fears Arsenal’s current crop of stars could run down their contracts if things don’t change[/caption]
