Arsenal players on brink of major deal after Arteta, Bellerin’s talks

Arsenal’s first-team squad are set to agree to a 12.5 per cent pay cut after crucial talks involving Mikel Arteta and Hector Bellerin brought the squad together, reports The Athletic.
The proposal was initially rejected by the squad last week with many in the first team insisting they would only accept a deferral of their salary and not Arsenal’s request, which could see players sacrificing as much as 12.5 per cent of their pay packet between now and March 2021.
However, the intervention of Mikel Arteta, as first reported by The Athletic, brought more of a divided squad round to Arsenal’s point of view and the players are now on the brink of finalising a deal.
Though they could stand to lose up to 12.5 per cent of their pay packet the Gunners squad will be incentivised over the final weeks of the season.
If they qualify for the Europa League only 7.5 per cent of their salaries will be reclaimed. Qualify for the Champions League and they will earn back every penny they lost.
On Wednesday, Arsenal announced that their 12-man executive team had agreed to slash their salary by over a third whilst football.london also understands that the club owners, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, are covering financial commitments as well.
The players were led by Arsenal’s vice-captain and PFA representative, Bellerin, who impressed both the club hierarchy and his team-mates with his approach.
Though there had been some questions over why players should bear the financial brunt as opposed to billionaire owner Stan Kroenke those appear to have assuaged, potentially in light of the revelation from football.london yesterday that KSE would be offering some financial support.
Confirmation of the pay cut will allow Arsenal greater clarity to plan across numerous departments over the coming months though until they know when and in what form football will take place there will inevitably be some degree of doubt. Still trimming back their largest form of expense eases any fears the club hierarchy might have.
Arsenal have also cancelled all capital expenditure projects and have placed greater checks on discretionary spending in areas such as marketing. They confirmed yesterday that they do not intend to make any staff redundant nor to make use of the government’s furlough scheme.
If the deal is agreed Arsenal would become the first Premier League club to reach an agreement with their squad over pay cuts. Southampton and West Ham players agreed to defer their salaries.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are reportedly very close to announcing the signing of soon-to-be free agent Layvin Kurzawa from PSG.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Todo Fichajes, PSG left-back Layvin Kurzawa is set to complete a move to Arsenal on a free transfer when the summer transfer window opens, with an announcement due. The Frenchman will sign a five-year deal with Arsenal.
Kurzawa is on the last two months of his contract with PSG, and has been linked with several clubs, who wish to secure the soon-to-be free agent’s services, with Arsenal touted to be the favourites to sign him for a long time.
The 27-year-old has spent the last five seasons in the French capital after completing a move from their rivals, AS Monaco, in a €25 million deal. Unfortunately, though, Kurzawa has never managed to become a first-team regular in Paris, often blowing hot and cold through the duration of a season. This season as well, he’s played only 14 games, starting just nine.
He does, however, have his name in the history books of the prestigious Champions League as the only defender in the modern game to net a hat-trick in the aforementioned competition.
The Frenchman has not managed extend his deal with PSG and is due a move as soon as the season ends. An earlier report stated that Barcelona may be the club that finally beat Arsenal and secure his signature.
The Gunners were heavily linked to Kurzawa in January, but the transfer did not go through in time. However, it is now reported that Arsenal have signed him on a five-year deal.
In theory, Kurzawa would play second fiddle to Kieran Tierney. But, the Scottish international has only managed to accumulate five appearances for Arsenal, and has been pinned down by several injuries.
In the absence of Tierney, Arsenal have used Bukayo Saka as a makeshift left-back, and he’s instantly become a fan favourite in that position. Sead Kolasinac, too, has fought for the spot, but his defensive vulnerability has often left him down.
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes that Mikel Arteta needs to work on Arsenal’s defence that has looked too frail for almost a decade now, and during an Instagram Q&A, he said, “Really you’re meant to be looking at centre-halves, they should’ve been looking there for the last 10 years and they haven’t got it right.”
Kurzawa is a fantastic player offensively, but defensively. he’s arguably worse than all the left-backs Arsenal have at the moment. However, with the announcement of a deal now imminent, it looks like the Frenchman will become the Gunners’ first signing this summer.