Arsenal are close to agreeing new contracts with two first team players, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
While the pair aren’t top of Arsenal fans’ contract concerns with both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil locked in negotiations, it will still be a piece of good news to hear that two Frenchman will be sticking around.
The paper reports that Francis Coquelin will be rewarded with a new deal that doubles his salary and extends his stay until 2021; while Olivier Giroud will sign a one year extension to his current deal, which expires in the summer of 2017.
Hopefully tieing more of the first team squad down will show Ozil and Sanchez that there is a serious project going on at the Emirates, persuading them to sign on for another few years in London.
Alexis Sanchez looks like a particularly difficult man to tie down now his head has been turned by offers from China and Chelsea. Olivier Giroud, while a useful player to have in the team, is not a suitable replacement.