A member of Arsenal's squad 'does not intend" to renew his contract and has asked his agents to find him a new club, according to reports.
Arsenal chasing first title in 20 years as crunch matches await
Mikel Arteta is attempting to guide the Gunners to their first Premier League title in 20 years, as they fiercely contend with both Man City and Liverpool.
Fabrizio Romano says Arsenal think £120,000-a-week star is ideal for Arteta
The Gunners’ plans are taking shape ahead of this summer.
ByEmilio GalantiniApr 12, 2024
Arsenal's imperious start to 2024 has attracted worthy praise, with Arteta's side scoring a brilliant 38 in their last 11 games and averaging over three goals per match as a result.
The possibility of them ending City and Liverpool's stranglehold on English football dominance from the last half a decade is very real, but their next test is a tough one, as they gear up to take on top four-chasing Aston Villa on Sunday.
Aston Villa (home)
April 14th
Wolves (away)
April 20th
Chelsea (home)
April 23rd
Tottenham (away)
April 28th
Bournemouth (home)
May 4th
"What they’ve done since Unai came in," said Arteta on Villa.
"He's made a huge impact at the club in terms of performances and consistency, it’s unbelievable what they are doing. They’re still in European competition and they played last night so it's really impressive with what they’ve done."
While Arteta gears up for an all-important title run-in, sporting director Edu is working on transfer targets for the summer, and must decide on the futures of surplus Arsenal players as well.
One of them, 20-year-old Charlie Patino, is out of contract at the end of this season once he returns from his loan spell at Swansea City.
The midfielder has been a regular under Luke Williams in the Championship this term, contributing with goals and assists, but it appears he may not have a future at Arsenal in the long term.
Patino won't sign Arsenal extension and works to find new club
According to Pianeta Milan, as translated by Sport Witness, Patino 'does not intend' to renew his contract with Arsenal and has instructed his agents to find him a new club this summer.
He is attracting interest from Italy, with both Juventus and AC Milan keeping tabs on the situation, and he is labelled a "great opportunity" considering his contract is about to run out and they could sign him for free.
"He is 18 years old, he can deal with the ball in any area of the pitch, go past people left side, right side," said Michael Appleton during his loan spell at Blackpool in 2022/23.
"I said when he came to the club that he's as good as anyone I’ve seen dealing with the ball and with good movement of the ball, as you’ve seen tonight, he can play as a six, as a ten and as an eight. He’s got a really, really good future ahead of him.
"He was outstanding tonight, especially in that second half. He controlled the game, it was his game, he played at his tempo; when he wanted to speed it up, he sped it up; when he wanted to slow it down, he slowed it down; when he wanted to switch the play, he did it."