Luiz contract latest, Ozil row brewing and transfer uncertainty grows : Gunners

BEFORE THE GAME:

Asked why Luiz was dropped, Arteta told Sky Sports: ‘There are a few things that happened in recent weeks and I have to pick the team that in my opinion is the best to compete today. And that’s what I’ve done.

AFTER THE GAME:

“I am really happy with David, I want to keep him here with us. He’s been a key role model since I joined,” said Arteta. “I like what he produces on the pitch, I like his influence around the players and the club – I would love to keep him.”

These two statements from Arteta is contradictory. If he was really happy with him then he would’ve started him.

Please correct me if i’m wrong but is permanently signing Mari cheaper than extending Luiz’s contract? One is 26 and the other is 33. Logically Arteta should be demanding we sign Mari and let Luiz go.

I think due to the coronavirus the transfer market will be depressed and it will be much harder to offload some of our players. It’s possible we won’t be able to do as much as Arteta would like when it comes to buying players. There’s also this other important factor to consider – the LA Rams stadium project has been severely impacted and needed a large injection of capital from Kroneke. That will hurt us in terms of flexibility in the transfer market.