‘Trying to be clever’ - Arsenal legend has already hit out over key summer transfer window delay

Arsenal have already been warned against ‘trying to be clever’ with negotiations over a new contract for England star Bukayo Saka.

The Gunners winger earned his 14th Three Lions cap in Tuesday night’s Nations League draw in Germany and will hope to further add to his tally when Gareth Southgate’s side face Italy at Molineux on Saturday.

Saka’s time away on international duty has coincided with speculation over his future at the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal’s failure to qualify for the Champions League said to have left them vulnerable to offers from other clubs.

It is just under two years since Saka penned a deal that will enter its final 12 months at the end of next season and could not hide his pride over the agreement.

After signing his last contract in 2020, the England star took to Twitter to say: “London is my home. Arsenal is my team.

“I’m so happy to finally announce my contract extension. I love playing for this club and I’m looking forward to what the future holds. The hard work continues so I can continue living my dream.”

However, Saka has made rapid progress since putting pen to paper on that deal and is now seen as a key player for both club and country.

Several clubs have already been linked with a move for the 20-year-old throughout the last six months as speculation surrounding a new contract has increased.

Liverpool were said to be considering a move for Saka in March and it is Premier League champions Manchester City that have been heavily linked with the Gunners star in recent days.

Arsenal legend Sol Campbell has already warned his former club against ‘trying to be clever’ when it comes to securing their brightest talent on a new contract and seeing off interest from other clubs.

The former Invincible told talkSPORT earlier this year: “When you get young players who just come out and do really, really well, you’ve got to protect them, you’ve got to secure them.

“They’re the lifeblood for the fans, for their country, England, and especially Arsenal. You can’t allow top, top players to run their contracts down and move on because you’re taking too long.

“It’s happened before but that was all about big, big money, it took a long time to secure their contracts – why?

“When a club takes so long to secure the future of a player, if you wait too long, they’re going to get offers from other teams around. Sometimes you can agree a price but if you wait six months (to get the deal signed) the price might now be different, it could be more.

“So you’re thinking, why didn’t you secure that price six months ago, when you would have paid less money, secured the player and everyone would be happy, instead of trying to drag it out and trying to be clever with negotiations?”