Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be desperate to get his two young stars, William Saliba and Bukayo Saka, tied down to new contracts, according to Pete O'Rourke.

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The Gunners are enjoying what has been a stunning - and perhaps unexpected - 2022/23 campaign so far as they sit pretty at the top of the table.

Any immediate concerns surrounding the north London club will be around whether or not they can hold onto their five-point cushion in first place and lift the title.

However, there are some issues inside the club which are seemingly needing to be resolved too with key members of the starting XI seeing their contracts set to expire within the next 18 months.

And speaking to Football FanCast, journalist O'Rourke has suggested the Spanish coach will be eager to get the likes of Saka and Saliba tied down to extended contracts:

"They're two key players that Mikel Arteta will be desperate to tie down. And if Arsenal continue to show the progress they're making, it's only going to boost their chances of securing both of these players on long-term contracts despite interest from other clubs.

"I'm sure they're both happy at Arsenal and can see the club is going in the right direction."

Tying down the future

Key to Arsenal's resurgence under Arteta has been the club's development of young players and there has been no better example over the last few years than Saka.

The Englishman made a real statement last season as to why he should be starting week in and week out for Arteta at the Emirates Stadium.

In his 38 Premier League appearances last season, Saka was able to return an impressive 11 goals and seven assists for the Gunners.

However, his development has continued this season having already offered up seven goals and seven assists in just 20 league appearances.

In addition, the return of Saliba from his time away on loan has helped to transform Arteta's defence which has conceded the second-fewest number of goals this season (17).

The Frenchman has certainly nailed down the starting spot in Arteta's side with 20 starts in the Premier League alone this season.

Given Arsenal's dominance, perhaps the centre-backs stats do not quite level up with others across the league, however, he has earned the praise of many over his displays thus far:

"I was massively impressed by him. He reminded me of a young Rio Ferdinand," said Gary Neville on Sky Sports.

And when the likes of Manchester City are believed to be showing an interest in Saka, it is key the Gunners are able to tie these players down to new deals to preserve the potential success of the club for years to come.