Mikel Arteta said that he is “very positive” that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will sign a new contract with Arsenal but was more guarded on the futures of Emiliano Martinez and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
All three players started and impressed during Arsenal’s win against Liverpool in the Community Shield at Wembley with Aubameyang opening the scoring and netting the decisive penalty, Martinez twice denying Sadio Mane with important saves and Maitland-Niles earning the official man of the match award.
The penalty shootout win over the Premier League champions offered further proof of Arsenal’s progression under Arteta but he will be wary that optimism for the 2020-21 campaign could fade very quickly if an agreement can’t be reached with Aubameyang.
“I’m very positive he is going to sign but there are a lot of things involved in a contract deal and we are trying to solve them,” Arteta said after Aubameyang fired Arsenal to a 5-4 win on penalties.
“I’m not worried because we can try to do as much as possible to convince the player or tell them what we think and put all the cards on the table to try and keep him here but after is the part of the player and the agent that have to agree. I think we built a really good relationship between us and hopefully we can do it.”
Martinez excelled after stepping in for the injured Bernd Leno towards the end of last season but has been linked with Valencia and Real Betis while Maitland-Niles has been the subject of interest from Wolves who are looking to sign a replacement for Tottenham bound Matt Doherty.
“We are in the market but there is a lot of speculation,” Arteta said. “Emi has shown in the last few months what he’s capable to do for this football club, I am convinced he has the level to play for us consistently at that level, he showed that today in a final. I cannot stop the speculation or what people write about us.”
On Maitland-Niles, he added: “The way he is at the moment is showing me that he can do it, the mentality and the way he’s going about every single detail, the preparation is much better than before and I’m delighted and very happy for him. He’s been changing a lot of things around him to become the player he is.”
It has been a positive transfer window for Arsenal with Willian arriving on a free from Chelsea, William Saliba rejoining the club following his loan with Saint-Etienne and Gabriel Magalhaes’s move from Lille edging closer.
However, speculation linking players with moves elsewhere could undermine the club’s preparations for the season and Arteta acknowledged that the extended window until October 5 could present problems for Arsenal.
“We know its not ideal, it creates a lot of uncertainty around the club in the player’s minds about their futures but we will try to be honest with everybody and be fair and try to do our business in the right way,” he said.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3gOnxzz
Post a Comment