Mikel Arteta could soon lose his two most experienced midfielders (Picture: Getty)
Mikel Arteta has no plans to begin contract talks with Thomas Partey or Jorginho despite both players having less than six months to run on their current deals.
The experienced duo are likely top lay key roles over the coming months as Arsenal navigate a hectic period which will define their season.
Arteta’s men are currently still in four competitions and will expect to push Liverpool all the way in the race for the Premier League title and harbour ambitions of progressing to the latter stages of the Champions League.
Partey, in particular, has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent weeks and has been utilised in midfield and at right-back where he has been forced to fill in as a result of the injuries suffered by Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Jorginho, meanwhile, has been used more sparingly by his manager but he is sure to be utilised in the upcoming domestic cup competitions and his status is reflected by the fact he has warn the captain’s armband several times in recent weeks.
‘That situation is there in the contracts so that is a possibility,’ said Arteta reflecting on the precarious nature of the contract situation regarding Partey and Jorgino.
‘It’s close communication with them to understand what their idea is, what they want to do, express our intentions and then let’s decide for everybody what the best option is, but it’s two players that I am very, very happy with.
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Thomas Partey has been in excellent form this season
‘They add such value to the squad and I want to keep them in the right mindframe because the most important part of the season is coming up.’
Asked if he was keen for both players to stay and commit their futures to the club, he added: ‘What I can say is that it’s not about what I want, it’s about what those players have in their minds and their situations.
‘I don’t want to start to have these conversations now, I want to have them much later because the focus now has to be what we have to do in the season. They can understand the intentions, and then we will see what we can do.’
Regardless of where Partey and Jorginho are playing next season, the future does look bright for Arsenal following the emergence of both Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.
Ethan Nwaneri deputised superbly for Bukayo Saka against Brentford
The teenagers have both excelled in recent weeks and are likely to be called on regularly over the course of the next few games.
Arteta has been criticised in the past for not leaning as heavily on the club’s prolific academy as he might have, but he intends to make use a new group of youngsters.
He said: ‘The first thing that we want is to look at the academy – can we get what we want in the academy, that’s option number one. If we don’t have it there, then we have to look elsewhere.
‘We have to develop our players to different positions and make them more versatile, or we have to go into the market and recruit.
‘I think those two players [Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri] are playing because they deserve to, not just down to injuries, but because there are options to play other players. They play because they are good players.’