Arsenal enjoyed a busy end to the January transfer window as Mikel Arteta welcomed Jorginho to the club on deadline day. The former Chelsea midfielder followed Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior to the Emirates Stadium as Edu's spending spree eclipsed £50million.
The Gunners boss will hope that his three new players can push the side closer to the title, with Manchester City following closely behind. Arsenal, who have a game in hand, are five points ahead of the reigning champions, but the two sides are yet to lock horns in the Premier League this season.
Arteta has launched the north Londoners' first real title pursuit in six years. While the Spaniard will be desperate to relish the short-term rewards of his side's success this season, Edu already has the Gunners' next two transfer dealings in his sights so the club can build upon their meteoric rise.
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With a new contract for Gabriel Martinelli seemingly in place, Arsenal's two priorities ahead of the summer transfer window will be to extend the tenures of Bukayo Saka and William Saliba. The duo, who have been stalwarts for Arteta, each see their respective deals expire in less than 18 months.
In January, the Gunners activated a one-year extension option in Saka's contract, football.london understands. The 21-year-old's deal was due to expire at the end of the current season but will now run until the summer of 2024 instead.
It's believed that the north Londoners remain locked in talks with the England international over a potential further extension and it's understood that they are progressing positively. Speaking in August, Arteta admitted that he was "very confident" that the club and Saka's party 'are very much aligned' in their vision.
"I am very confident that we as a club and Bukayo, his family, his agent, everybody, we are very much aligned in what we want to achieve," the Arsenal boss said. "And now it is about putting it on a piece of paper.
"I would like that to get done, because I don’t want the player or anybody distracted while we are in the middle of the season. But those things take time and they have to go through the right process, and I think the process has been really good."
Tying Saliba down to a new contract could be just as important for Arsenal. football.london understands that the Gunners triggered a one-year extension in the Frenchman's deal too after he was set to leave in the summer, but will now stay until at least until the summer of 2024.
It's said that talks are thought to be progressing well. Speaking football.london earlier last month, Arteta issued an update: "What I know is that the player is really happy, the player wants to be here and that’s the main thing."
Saka and Saliba are thought to be worth a combined £178.4million, according to the CIES Football Observatory. Not only would Arsenal suffer financially by letting the pair leave for free, they'd also lose two huge components in the club's title-challenging side.
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