Arsenal seem to have blossomed into a considerably better run club than they used to be. Remember a few years back when they couldn’t seem to keep control of their player’s contractual situation (think of Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott). Now the club hiearchy seems to be a little more proactive.
Not so long ago, The Gunners moved to lock down players like Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs with long-term deals. Now they’re looking to do the same thing with two further important players.
The Metro claims that Arsenal have offered Mikel Arteta a one year contract extension. This is in line with the clubs’ policy to limit the terms offered to players over 30-years-old.
Arteta’s no spring chicken. He’s now 32-years-old. But there’s doubting how important he is to this team. Arsenal have been a notably less effective team throughout his injury.
And let’s not forget that he’s club captain. He’s not the most vocal individual, but he does have experience and leadership qualities. With all this in mind, it’s good to see that he’ll be tied down to the club for a little longer.
Arsenal are also set to offer a new deal to Olivier Giroud. The aforementioned source claims that his new terms will keep him at the club until 2018. By that stage, he’ll be in his 30s. Hopefully he’ll have firmly established himself as an Arsenal legend (ha!).
The 6 foot 4 inch striker is almost as important to Arsenal as Mikel Arteta. Before they signed Danny Welbeck on deadline day, The Gunners were woefully short of strikers. Olivier Giroud was tasked with leading the attack on his own.
Last year he made an exhausting 51 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 22 goals. This time round he looked set to do even better, but picked up a long-term injury (a broken tibia) that will keep him out for four months.
That’s unfortunate, but it will provide him with plenty of opportunity to agree a new deal.
One thing’s for sure, this is a positive step forward for Arsenal. They’ve made some good additions this summer and now they need to lock down their existing personnel.
With all this in place, who’s to say that they can’t start challenging for more silverware?
What’s your take? Are you glad to see Mikel Arteta and Olivier Giroud being handed new deals?
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