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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of a 2-1 win over Burnley, Arsenal manager Unai Emery revealed the club are “working on” handing new deals to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

What’s the word?

The strike duo have been an integral part of Arsenal’s side since joining the club, and have forged a real understanding.

Aubameyang’s existing contract expires in the summer of 2021, whilst Lacazette’s runs out the following year. Now, Emery has confirmed the Gunners are in the process of tying them down to fresh new terms.

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He said (as quoted by Goal): “They are very important players and their contracts need to be in the same balance. It’s one circumstance, one issue now, that the club is working on. Edu is here for that reason. There’s also Raul (Sanllehi) and Huss (Fahmy), working with the players for that.

“It’s important for them, but my focus is on preparing the matches, each training session and making sure the players are focused and concentrated for us and on the work.”

Learning from mistakes

It’s been one of the biggest criticisms of the north London side’s dealings in recent years – letting key players enter the final year of their contract, and either watching them leave on the cheap or having to pay an extortionate amount to desperately keep them.

Indeed, earlier this summer, Emery’s side watched Aaron Ramsey complete his free transfer to Juventus, whilst in January 2018, they were burned by Alexis Sanchez’s contract situation. Going back further, then-captain Robin van Persie was sold to Manchester United after entering the final year of his deal.

If Arsenal are to be competing for the top-four or even the title, they simply cannot have the futures of their star players become uncertain, while essentially risking the financial value of the club’s biggest assets. It puts them in an incredibly difficult position and leaves them at the mercy of players and their agents.

Emery’s comments suggest Arsenal are learning from their previous mistakes by protecting Aubameyang and Lacazette’s futures, but they still need to hand their goal-scoring forwards new contracts as soon as possible.

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