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Arsenal face an impending triple transfer hit unless Raul Sanllehi intervenes quickly

Mikel Arteta may be without three defenders for the Arsenal season finals unless the club’s hierarchy intervenes quickly on their contracts.

David Luiz’s contract expires on June 30, the same day the loan agreements for Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares come to an end.

Premier League rules allow players to sign temporary contracts until the end of the season, but these must be agreed by June 23, giving Arsenal less than two weeks in which to make a decision on the future of three defenders, two of whom (Luiz and Mari) were the starting pairings for their final game before the block.

Cedric, meanwhile, has not appeared since joining Arsenal on loan from Southampton in January. He came with a knee injury from which he had only just recovered since the coronavirus pandemic forced the three-month postponement of Premier League games.

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The 28-year-old also lost the Gunners’ friendlies against Charlton Athletic and Brentford due to a facial injury that forced him to train with a mask.

Cedric’s contract with the Saints will expire on June 30, the same day as the loan agreement. So far no talks have been held on the extension of his stay at Arsenal and the veteran right-back, signed as a cover for Hector Bellerin, could leave without having ever played.

The Portuguese international could agree with a new agreement with the Gunners that will start on July 1st, but the Premier League does not want free agents who do not agree on the extensions with their current club to play for a new team in the last weeks of the season.

Arsenal could argue to the league that Cedric’s situation is sufficiently different from that of Ryan Fraser, who is not expected to sign a short-term agreement with Bournemouth and who will enter the free agents market in July, that his full registration should be able to switch to them smoothly. Even in these unprecedented times this is a unique bond faced by few other clubs.

Cedric isn’t the only borrower facing an uncertain future ahead of Arsenal’s return to Manchester City on June 17th. Pablo Mari’s loan deal with the Gunners also expires later this month.

Arsenal are ready to sign a permanent contract with Mari and the Spaniard has impressed on and off the pitch since his arrival from Flamengo in late January. However, the £ 8m purchase option that was once considered a cheap investment must now be considered more carefully.

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Mari is still expected to extend her stay but football.london understands that the formal talks between Arsenal and Flamengo on the extension of the loan or the activation of the purchase option remain in a formative phase.

Mari and Luiz started Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over West Ham, which was their last game before the blockade and Arteta would like to keep both. The former offers an option for the left in the heart of the defense, while the latter has won much praise for its role as leader since Arteta took over.

Luiz’s £ 125,000 a week contract also expires on June 30 and Arsenal has not yet activated the option to extend it for another 12 months. Player representative Kia Joorabchian held talks with football chief Raul Sanllehi and technical director Edu about the 33-year-old’s future, including the possibility of signing up for a lower salary.

Arsenal’s actions on Luiz and Mari could be informed by the success they believe they have in moving on to other defenders this summer. football.london It has been said that Sokratis Papastathopoulos plans to be sold this summer while Shkodran Mustafi is available although a buyer can be found.

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