Arsenal open contract talks with key defensive stars

Arsenal have opened talks with defenders Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu over new contracts, 90min understands.

The Gunners have been hard at work tying their top talents down to new deals in the past 12 months, securing the futures of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli among others.

Next in line for extensions are defensive duo White and Tomiyasu and sources have confirmed to 90min that Arsenal are hoping to have new contracts for the pair lined up by January.

White's current deal does not expire until 2026 but Arsenal are keen to reward the 26-year-old, who has spent most of his time under Mikel Arteta at right-back, with a bumper new contract as a sign of their continued commitment to him.

Similarly, Tomiyasu's contract runs until 2025 but Arsenal do have the option to extend his current terms by a further 12 months. However, like White, they want to reward him with an improved deal in the coming weeks.

90min understands there is confidence over both extensions, with Arsenal looking to get things wrapped up before the January transfer window opens.

• LISTEN TO THE LATEST EPISODE OF 90MIN'S TALKING TRANSFERS PODCAST: RATCLIFFE'S MAN UTD PLANS, HAALAND'S EXIT CLAUSES & MORE!

While White has been a regular starter for Arsenal, Tomiyasu has taken on more of a squad role since his switch to the Emirates in 2021, and the Japan international was recently tipped to leave the club in search of more regular minutes.

In response to those rumours, and specifically reported interest from Bayern Munich, Gunners boss Arteta recently made it clear he hopes to keep Tomiyasu around.

"I really want him to stay," Arteta said. "I value the player a lot. I really like him.

"He's loved and respected by everybody at the club. He's getting a lot of minutes now. He's getting to a level of availability that we need to make an impact on the team.

"He will continue to be with us."

READ THE LATEST NEWS FROM 90MIN'S TALKING TRANSFERS TEAM