The three players who formed the spine of last season’s Premier League triumph are reportedly ready to put pen to paper on new deals. TeamTalk correspondents Graeme Bailey and Fraser Fletcher say the trio want to stay at the Emirates for the long term, and each of them has less than two years left to run on his current contract.
The push for fresh signatures sits on top of a decision Arsenal confirmed earlier on Wednesday. Mikel Arteta, 44, signed a new four-year contract that keeps him in charge until 2030, with his coaching staff tied to the same timeframe. The Spaniard took charge in December 2019 and ended Arsenal’s 22-year wait for a league title last season, their first since 2004.
“It’s a privilege to commit my future to the club and to continue to work with exceptional people who want the best for Arsenal,” Arteta said.
Chief executive Richard Garlick framed the renewal as the start of something longer.
Read also: Donnarumma ‘has had reassurances’ from Manchester City after 115-charge verdict, Raiola says
“This is an important time in Arsenal Football Club’s history. We want to create a winning era together with Mikel.”
The trio Arsenal want to tie down
Rice is one of the names at the centre of the next round of talks. The England midfielder joined from West Ham in 2023 for a club-record £105m and has become a fixture of Arteta’s midfield.
Odegaard, the club captain, was linked with a sensational departure before the start of the 2026-27 campaign, but those rumours were quickly shut down and the Norwegian has started the season in strong form.
Timber arrived from Ajax in 2023 for a reported £38m and has become central to Arsenal’s back line, used both at full-back and in the centre.
Read also: First man to leave Manchester City after guilty verdict
According to FootballTransfers, the trio carry a combined estimated transfer value of €210m.
Timber’s long road back
Timber missed much of the closing stretch of Arsenal’s title-winning campaign with a groin injury and sat out the 2026 World Cup for the same reason. He returned as a substitute in the 2-0 win over Sunderland before playing 59 minutes in the defeat at Brighton, then adding 77 minutes for the Netherlands against Greece and a short cameo against Serbia.
He has been candid about the risk of pushing too hard, too soon.
“I have to be very smart about the steps we take. Otherwise, I’ll suffer a setback, and I don’t want that,” Timber told Metro.
Arsenal, who sit second in the Premier League and three points behind leaders Manchester City after a 3-0 defeat at Brighton before the international break, host Leeds United at the Emirates on Saturday.
Read also: ‘I will defend you outside, but not here’: Mourinho confronts Mbappé
