Andrea Berta will have a lot to do when he is officially announced as Arsenal's sporting director, that much is certain. Not only will he be picking up the baton from Jason Ayto's January window - which has split opinion - but Berta will be doing it without much time to settle in.
The nature of Edu Gaspar's shock exit earlier this season has left Arsenal in a state of flux. Mikel Arteta was not expecting it and he is already heavily involved in the day-to-day activity at the club, more so than some other managers at rival teams.
This hands-on attitude will be a benefit for Berta when it comes to getting his feet under the table. Arteta will not leave a stone unturned and has never shied away from letting his opinion be known in the biggest discussions.
What this does not disguise, however, is just how much is in Berta's in-tray already. Signing a striker, strengthening the midfield, clearing out the fringes, adding depth across the squad, and securing permanent players on the wings are all a matter of immense importance.
Luckily for Berta, he doesn't need to worry about future-proofing too much just yet. This should allow him to focus on the here and now.
football.london wrote on Wednesday that with the expected exits of out-of-contract trio Jorginho, Kieran Tierney, and Thomas Partey, Arsenal are in a clear position heading into the summer window. Unlike Liverpool, who are scrambling to secure Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, and Trent Alexander-Arnold to new deals, Arsenal have accepted that their players are on the way out for free.
This plays into a wider situation which Edu led at Arsenal. In research by the CIES Football Observatory, only Manchester United (86.4%) and Chelsea (91.8%) from the Premier League have more of their squad tied down until after 2026.
Including those on loan, 85.8% of the players contracted to Arsenal have at least two years left on their contracts. It is evidence of the proactive approach that Edu and Arteta have taken.
Since 2022, all of Martin Odegaard, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli, and Ben White have penned new terms. They are all on board until 2027 at the earliest and remain the core of Arteta's current side.
Looking beyond that and tying Eddie Nketiah down helped to maintain his transfer value, even when performances slumped last season. Arsenal will have struggled to recoup as much of the £25million up front fee (which could rise to £30million) had there been two or fewer years left on his deal over the summer.
The same is true of Aaron Ramsdale, although it was harder to find suitors for him. Had the contract situations not been as strong for Arsenal then they could have lost out.
When it comes to the three who are heading out this summer, Tierney has been a hard sell due to his injury issues in the past few seasons. Jorginho was always signed as a short-term transfer anyway and never had resell value when arriving from Chelsea for £10million in January 2023. Partey has been a key player for much of his stay in north London, but has suffered injury issues during that time.
All three have maximised their book value for Arsenal, meaning that there is no accounting loss to be made even if they are not getting a fee back for players who cost £70million combined. The same would be true of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard, and Takehiro Tomiyasu for next summer.
(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
They are all out of contract and will walk away for free if no extension is agreed or sale completed. In nine months time they will be able to negotiate a mid-season deal with clubs outside of Europe ahead of summer 2026.
All three could depart before then. It is not unfeasible that they do extend either for one year to protect Arsenal financially or on a longer-term contract. They have each been of interest to teams across the world in the past 12 months.
When it comes to the data, Arsenal are well set for contracts in 2025 and have made their bed, which they are happy to lie in. Five clubs have more than their 9.8% out of contract in just over three months but each scenario is different.
When it comes to those in 2026, only Chelsea have fewer than Arsenal, leaving them in a very good space. Across Europe's top five leagues there are just five clubs more prepared for 2026 on this front. Moving to 2027 and beyond, there are also only five.
Perhaps the biggest worry is that in 2027, Saka, Gabriel, and Saliba are among the players out of contract. Entering the final two years is often where clubs tend to draw the line.
Talks with that group expected to start soon enough in order to avoid a Liverpool-type saga. Martinelli and Jesus are also out of contract at that point as well.
Arsenal do have plenty of time to play with, which will allow Berta to concentrate on the more immediate and pressing matters. When the summer is well underway and he is settled, internal squad building for the future can begin in depth.
To this extent, Berta has Edu to thank for his approach to committing players to Arsenal. Being thrown in at the deep end at short notice is also down to Edu, but that cannot be helped now.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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