Arteta passionately pleads for Arsenal star to stay as contract talks approach, but second player gets more vague response
Mikel Arteta has confirmed he is especially keen for Arsenal to keep Takehiro Tomiyasu after TEAMtalk revealed the defender is due to hold talks about his contract in the new year.
Tomiyasu is now in his third season with Arsenal after arriving from Bologna in the summer of 2021. The versatile defender is under contract until the end of next season, although Arsenal have an option to make that expiry date 2026 instead.
Recently, Bayern Munich have been exploring an ambitious deal for Tomiyasu as they look to strengthen their defence.
However, TEAMtalk has explained that Arsenal want to speak to Tomiyasu about a new contract in 2024, which backs up their stance of not wanting to let Bayern win the transfer battle.
And on Friday, Arsenal manager Arteta insisted Tomiyasu is too valuable for the club to think about losing.
“I really want him to stay,” Arteta said. “I value the player a lot. I really like him.
“He’s loved and respected by everybody at the club.
“He’s getting a lot of minutes now. He’s getting to a level of availability that we need to make an impact on the team.
“He will continue to be with us.”
Tomiyasu has played 16 times across all competitions so far this season, starting three of his 10 Premier League appearances.
Arsenal have recently become the club Tomiyasu has represented the most in his career, since he has now played 69 times for them (five more than he did for Bologna).
Arteta slightly more coy on Jorginho
Another player who will be wondering about his future at Arsenal is Jorginho, whose deal is due to expire in the summer.
The midfielder only joined the club in January from Chelsea, but his agent has indicated he will only learn if he has a chance of getting a contract extension from February onwards.
And Arteta has confirmed it will be a waiting game to determine Jorginho’s future, even though he is happy with the Italy international as well.
“I am really happy with Jorgi. We all are,” Arteta responded.
“He contributes to make the team better. Let’s see.”
Jorginho’s appearance tally this season is 14, including four Premier League starts among nine top-flight outings.
Like Tomiyasu, there is a one-year option in Jorginho’s contract, which in his case could tie him down until 2025 if Arsenal decide to activate it.
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