technical director Edu has promised supporters that Bukayo Saka will not be sold and that the club plan to offer him a new long-term contract.
The winger has become Arsenal’s most important player at the age of just 20 but he remains on his first professional contract with the club, which is set to expire in 2024.
Saka netted 11 times last term and he’s attracted attention from both and Liverpool, who could move for the England international if he fails to put pen-to-paper on a new deal before next summer.
Arsenal have shown their ambition so far this summer by spending £120m on the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
But keeping Saka is paramount to Arsenal’s plans and Edu has promised supporters that he will not be sold.
Asked how negotiations have been going with Saka’s representatives, Edu replied: ‘Good, very good. Everybody is happy.’
Pushed further on why there’s been a delay in Saka signing a new deal, Edu said it’s normal and that the winger would not be sold.
‘It’s normal. We’re going to sit and put all the expectations in the right place. Our expectations and his, his family and his agent’s expectations, and put everything together.
‘The main thing is how he feels, how he feels comfortable with us. He’s happy, we’re happy, so it’s just: sit down and find a solution.’
Part of Arsenal’s rebuild under Edu has been to get rid of players on big wages and to invest in younger players with sell-on value.
That of course, would require Arsenal to cash in on their prized assets but Edu says Saka is not one of those players.
‘Part of the plan is when you are starting to sell the players — that’s the challenging one,’ said Edu.
‘You already need someone prepared. Sell, if we are able to do that, then ‘chapeau’. It’s very challenging.
‘For example, let’s talk about next season or another. If we sell, I don’t know, Bukayo Saka — that’s not going to happen but it’s just an example — we as a club have to prepare his replacement straight away.
‘So someone has to be in the squad or we have to manage the market well so, if we sell him, we have someone straight away to replace him in our model.’
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