02 February 2023 , 20:43
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Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli has penned a new long-term four-and-a-half year deal with the Gunners to extend his stay at the Emirates until the summer of 2027.
The updates serves as more good news for Mikel Arteta's side, who have now secured the future of one of their plethora of young stars. Martinelli's previous contract would have expired at the end of the next campaign, though the Gunners did boast a two-year extension option in the last deal which would have tied him to North London until 2026.
But, according to The Athletic, the situation regarding the attacker has now been resolved with Arteta and Edu convincing him to put pen to paper on a new long-term deal to commit his future to the club. The Brazilian has enjoyed a stellar season so far, netting seven goals to help propel his side to the top of the Premier League at the half-way stage. Arsenal boast a five-point advantage over nearest challengers Manchester City having played a game less.
For all of the positivity surrounding Martinelli's extension, there are two other contractual situations Arsenal still need to address before they can really celebrate.
Both Bukayo Saka and William Saliba are yet to follow Martinelli's lead and commit their long-term future to the club, despite Arsenal proving they are most certainly heading in the right direction under Arteta. No one will be more desperate to tie the pair down than the Gunners boss himself, who issued an update on Saliba's ongoing contract negotiations just before the turn of the year.
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With the Frenchman's contract set to enter its final 12 months in the summer, Arteta was quizzed over his defender's future as he told the media: "That’s more to Edu and the board to be discussing with him.
Gabriel Martinelli has extended his Arsenal contract until 2027HAVE YOUR SAY! How many goals will Martinelli end the season with? Comment below
"What I know is that the player is really happy, the player wants to be here and that’s the main thing. We have a few of those that we are willing to extend the contract.
"Willy is one of them. I think he’s shown in the months that he’s been with us the quality and the personality he has to play at the level that we want. We are trying to do that because we know he can be a really important part of our plans."
It has been a tad longer since he properly addressed Saka's situation, though he was equally as optimistic when discussing the England ace's future in August of last year.
"I am very confident that we as a club, Bukayo and his family and agent are all aligned," he claimed. "Now it’s about putting that on a piece of paper.
"I would like that to get done because I don’t want players to be distracted in the season. But these things take time."