Arsenal remain confident that Bukayo Saka and William Saliba will eventually extend their contracts, with the club expected to focus on their new deals in the coming weeks.
James McNicholas reports for The Athletic that Arsenal contract negotiations with Bukayo Saka and William Saliba remain ongoing.
The expectation is that they will be a focus in the coming weeks, with the transfer window now closed, and Arsenal are confident that those talks will reach a successful conclusion.
Aside from the closure of the transfer window, perhaps another reason why now is a good time to negotiate is that both players are sidelined through injury.
In normal circumstances, both Saka and Saliba would be expected to link up with their countries over the international break, travelling around the continent.
But with Saka picking up a hamstring problem and Saliba spraining his ankle before the match against Liverpool, the duo will be undergoing rehab at London Colney for the next couple of weeks.
Despite the current injuries, Saka and Saliba remain two of Arsenal’s most important players, and Andrea Berta will be keen to get their contracts sorted.
The absolute worst-case scenario would be that one or both end up leaving for free when their contracts run out, seeing Arsenal lose the player(s) whilst also missing out on a potential £100m+ transfer.
It seems Arsenal are still optimistic of the best-case scenario though, which is that both players extend and spend many more years in north London.