Are Arsenal’s contract renewals as important as new signings this summer?

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This summer is set to be a baptism of fire for Arsenal’s new sporting director Andrea Berta.

With expiring contracts, key players soon up for renewal, bit-part contributors to be moved on and an array of transfer targets to convince that the red part of north London should be their new home, it could be a pivotal few months.

On the latest episode of The Athletic FC Podcast, Ayo Akinwolere was joined by David Ornstein and James McNicholas to discuss how Berta’s experience at previous employers Atletico Madrid will help him at Arsenal, and why re-signing key players could be just as important as adding them via transfers. Watch the discussion below.

A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in “The Athletic FC Podcast” feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 

Ayo Akinwolere: James, looking at potential outgoings this summer, Jorginho and Thomas Partey, both their contracts are up. But looking further ahead, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli also need to be tied up (their deals all have two years to run). We always think about incomings, but you also have to think about the long-term future of the club. I know Saliba has publicly stated he’s happy at Arsenal, but things can change in the next two years, can’t they?

James McNicholas: Yeah, and there are arguably a few more names that should be on that list. Leandro Trossard has a contract situation coming up, and Arsenal need to decide on his future. With Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, FA rules state that under-18s can only sign a maximum three-year contract, so they’re both on relatively short-term deals. Those players have obviously since broken through into the first team, and Arsenal will be keen to tie them down longer term.

Arsenal have started making headway on some of those deals, particularly with the younger players, like Nwaneri, but they’re yet to do so with Saka, Saliba or Gabriel (the central defender’s deal also runs out in 2027). These are big names and big pillars of the team. It’s interesting because Edu received a lot of praise externally for the recruitment work that he did. And in his early years, he received criticism for Arsenal’s inability to sell players. But he certainly improved in that respect, and Arsenal got better as a selling club. But one of the parts of his job he was really proud of, and he would tell you this himself, was the retention element. He was able, by and large, to keep the key players from this group together, and that’s so important.

Arsenal are at this point in their journey where they feel they’re on the cusp of real success. But if they’re to achieve it, it’s essential that these players they’ve spent years investing in, developing and building up, stay at the club. Arsenal are an attractive place to be right now. They’ve got a highly-rated manager, they’re consistent in terms of their performance, and they feel close to winning one of the big ones. But there’s still a way to go.

And thinking about the Saliba and Saka situations, they signed not too long ago. But they signed four-year contracts and now here we are, two years later, renegotiating again. Arsenal knew that would happen, and their philosophy at the time was, ‘If those players perform well, we’ll be happy to sit down and renegotiate with them.’ Whether they’re still saying that now, I don’t know. Because those negotiations dragged out a little bit. It got towards the final 12 months of those players’ contracts, and Arsenal were in a vulnerable position. They will be looking at Liverpool right now, potentially losing Trent Alexander-Arnold and there still being some jeopardy over Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, and they will be desperate to avoid a situation like that. So that will be as big a part of Berta’s job as anything else.

Akinwolere: I’m just thinking about what made Berta stand out. Constantly being with a team in the Champions League and dealing with a manager like Diego Simeone, who’s highly demanding, are surely some of the things that stood out for Arsenal, aren’t they David?

David Ornstein: Berta, as you point out, has worked with somebody of the ilk of Diego Simeone and contributed to the success and progress brought to Atletico Madrid. Managing Simeone’s personality, combustibility and emotion, and dovetailing it probably wasn’t always smooth, but that is the managerial mould that Arsenal have too in Mikel Arteta. Someone who’s very powerful, influential, vocal and has done a fantastic job.

He’s somebody who can challenge Arteta, but can also communicate and collaborate with him. Arsenal felt Berta ticked that box. He also has a very strong network of relationships around Europe and the world with agents, club directors and sporting directors. He’s worked outside of football too, that’s where he actually began. He then came into football at a lower level, moved higher up in Italy and then transitioned over to Spain.

Most people that you speak to who are involved in deal-making in European football have dealt with Berta. He’s said to be a very subtle, understated, discreet guy who doesn’t make many public pronouncements. Which is quite interesting, because when Edu was at the Brazilian FA before he came to Arsenal, he would pick the squad, announce it, hold press conferences, do interviews and would interact with the media. But it works differently in the Premier League. Everything is a little bit more under the radar, and that is more Berta’s way.

I’m sure he’ll work fastidiously and extremely hard to try and deliver what Arsenal want this summer, which is an immediate and crucial priority in the transfer market. Then he’ll start to build the chemistry between himself, the manager, executives, players, and start work on the contract situations, which are massive.

We don’t know the full scope of his role yet. Is he going to try to bring up the level of the academy and the pathways? Is he going to extend his influence to the women’s side? All these questions remain unanswered. But let’s be absolutely clear, he is at the core of Arsenal’s operations now. And to return to your original question, Arsenal wanted somebody of that global ilk and standing who had kudos, already established relationships and didn’t need to build, and a bit of an aura that could carry the club and this project on their shoulders. They felt Berta was the closest fit, and that’s why he’s in position now.

You can listen to full episodes of The Athletic FC Podcast for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.

(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

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