As Mikel Arteta and his squad return for training ahead of next season, the usual swell of excitement is growing around any rumours of new Arsenal signings.
Nuno Tavares has now officially signed with the club, while Albert Sambi Lokonga is also expected to join the Gunners in the near future.
A whole host of other names have been linked with the club as well – from James Maddison to Ruben Neves.
With so much attention on any potential incomings, it’s easy to forget about some of the players in the squad already.
With that in mind, here are five players you may have forgotten are still under contract at Arsenal.
Video Unavailable
Sead Kolasinac
Having spent the second-half of last season out on loan at Schalke, it would be easy to assume Arsenal had seen the last of Sead Kolasinac. However, the bulky Bosnian still has one year left on his deal with the club.
After a promising start to his career in north London, the 28-year-old soon fell out of favour with some unconvincing defensive displays. Nacho Monreal, Kieran Tierney, and even Ainsley Maitland-Niles have all been preferred over Kolasinac in recent seasons.
The new signing of another left back, Tavares, suggests that Arsenal will try and offload Kolasinac permanently this summer. Still, with that year left on his contract, the Bosnian may well feature for the Gunners again.
Lucas Torreira
Another player to have spent last season out on loan is Arsenal’s combative midfielder Lucas Torreira.
A number of man-of-the-match displays early on in his first season with the club had Arsenal fans purring over their ‘new Kante’. Sadly, poor form and a reported failure to settle to life in London quickly saw the Uruguayan fall out of favour.
Unfortunately, a season away at Atletico Madrid has done little to enhance Torriera’s reputation. League starts were few and far between over in Spain, with the 25-year-old failing to force his way into a title-winning side with any sort of frequency.
It looks like Arsenal will hope to offload the Uruguayan once more this summer – either on loan or permanently – but with a contract running till 2023, he too may remain at the club longer than expected.
Reiss Nelson
While loan spells have suggested the end for the two previously mentioned Arsenal players, Reiss Nelson may well have damaged his reputation by not going out on loan last season.
Once one of the highest regarded talents within Arsenal’s academy, Nelson has struggled to make much of an impact on the senior team. The impressive emergence of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli has now left Nelson some way down the pecking order.
Instead of going out on loan last season, the 21-year-old opted to stay at the club and fight for his place. This move backfired, as he featured just twice in the Premier League.
It now looks more likely that Nelson will consider a loan next season; or perhaps even a transfer away from the Gunners.
Premier League supporters were welcomed back to grounds across the country towards the end of last season and hope reigns eternal that the 2021/22 season will go by without disruptions.
Arsenal tickets will once again be available at www.arsenal.com/tickets, with Memberships available to buy here.
Memberships are available, which reduces the prices for tickets bought thereafter. A full breakdown of how much tickets cost for Category A, B and C games can be found here.
Alex Runarsson
In what may go down as one of the most fruitless transfers in Arsenal’s history, Alex Runarsson signed for the club only last September. Less than one year into that four-year contract, he has already become a largely forgotten (or best-to-forget) man amongst most fans.
Initially signed to provide backup to Bernd Leno, following the sale of previous number two Emi Martinez, Runarsson delivered some alarming performances – most notably against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup – which quickly had Arteta on the lookout for another option.
Brighton’s Mat Ryan was brought in on loan to provide additional cover, and although the Australian keeper will not return to Arsenal, this does not look like it will open the door again for Runarsson.
Instead Arsenal are still on the lookout for one, if not two, new goalkeeping options, with Andre Onana and Aaron Ramsdale both being considered.
Do you want all the latest news from around Arsenal Football Club straight to your email inbox?
Of course you do.
By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a twice-daily email, focused on all the latest news from the Emirates Stadium.
And, not only that, but you will get exclusive content from our club writers Chris Wheatley and Kaya Kaynak before anyone else.
You won’t miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners.
How do you sign up?
It’s easy and only takes seconds.
Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article – or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact – labelled ‘Get the biggest daily stories by email’ and click ‘Subscribe’.
Alternatively, you can click here and tick the Arsenal box to subscribe for our Gunners newsletter.
If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters – but we don’t think you’ll want to.
Cedric Soares
Another one for the dubious transfer pile, Cedric Soares signed permanently with the club last summer.
A Portuguese international, it looked as though Cedric would provide decent backup and competition for then first choice right back Hector Bellerin.
Instead, both men have struggled for form and Callum Chambers ended the season as Arteta’s preferred option for the fullback position.
Cedric was also considered to be an option at left back after signing for the club (initially on loan), but when Tierney was injured last season, Cedric was overlooked once more – this time in favour of Granit Xhaka.
Despite not being first or second choice in either right or left back, the 29-year-old may well get another shot at reclaiming his spot in the first team if Arsenal sell Bellerin this summer and fail to bring in a replacement.