Arsenal would reportedly like to try and keep four first-team players whose futures have looked in some doubt ahead of the summer transfer window.
Although there has been speculation that the likes of Kieran Tierney, Folarin Balogun, Emile Smith Rowe and Rob Holding could leave the Emirates Stadium, it seems Mikel Arteta would like all four of them to stick around, according to Steve Kay of Football Transfers.
Arsenal fans will certainly be pleased by this news, as all four surely still have a role to play at the club, even if none of them are particularly likely to be automatic starters any time soon.
The Gunners will almost definitely be back in the Champions League next season, so it’ll be vital for them to have good squad depth as they try to balance top level European football with domestic matters.
Balogun has impressed on loan at Reims and may well have suitors in the transfer market or loan market this summer, but he’s surely shown he’s good enough to challenge for a place in Arteta’s side next term.
The report adds that Nuno Tavares’ future is in doubt, so it surely makes sense to keep Tierney as an alternative to Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back.