Ronald Araujo’s case remains open amid links to Arsenal, but the defender appears likely to wait until the end of the season to make a decision on his future.
Spanish outlet AS reported in their print edition on Saturday, January 18th, 2025 that they understand Ronald Araujo’s case is still open.
The Barcelona defender has seemingly opted to continue with his current club until the end of the season, and he’ll sit down with the club to talk about his future then.
The two parties have discussed the renewal of his contract, which currently runs to 2026, but even if he extends it the door will reportedly remain open to a transfer. For the time being, Araujo has only been convinced to delay any firm decisions until June.
AS add that Araujo is wanted by Juventus and Arsenal, among other clubs. The Gunners are certainly unlikely to make a move for a centre-back in January, but perhaps they could in the summer, so the 25-year-old’s call to delay until then may make a transfer to north London more likely.
Whether or not Arsenal are in the market for a centre-back will likely depend on outgoings.
If fringe players like Jakub Kiwior, Kieran Tierney, and perhaps Takehiro Tomiyasu left the club, that would significantly reduce Mikel Arteta’s options while bringing in some cash to spend.
But if no one leaves, Arsenal should have other priorities. The centre-back pairing of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba certainly shouldn’t be going anywhere, and there are few suggestions they need to be upgraded on.
That’s not the case in other areas of the pitch, where they is a much more obvious need to add quality.