In a sudden turn of events, Arsenal appear set to go back on their wish to sell a player and instead are set to offer him a new contract, according to reports.
The Gunners have a problem between the sticks. Both Bernd Leno and Emiliano Martinez are demanding to be number one, and both have good reasons to do so, following a series of brilliant performances from the duo in the last year.
Now we brought you the news from The Atheltic earlier in the week which suggested Mikel Arteta had chosen Bernd Leno as his number one and that the club would sell Martinez for a figure of around £20million.
But now, according to The Telegraph, Arsenal have offered Martinez a contract extension and he is expected to sign it. Surely he would only sign a new deal if he was told the number one jersey is his, until he does something to lose it.
It could be possible that Emi’s camp leaked this news to The Atheltic earlier in the week in order to force Arsenal’s hand in contract negotiations. The Argentinean is thought to earn around ¼ of what Leno currently does.
So where would that leave Leno? It’s possible the German is happy to come back into the side as a cup keeper and win his place back, but in a best case scenario he would be willing to do that for one season. I think the club may be extending Emi’s deal to protect his value (only two years left) and then if he still deserves to be number one come January, the club may be open to offers for Leno, before his value falls.