With the end of the season fast approaching speculation is growing about the future of several key Arsenal players, including Nacho Monreal.
Indeed reports in Italy have gone so far as to claim that Arsenal have arranged contract talks with Monreal in recent days with a view to extending his deal.
There has been some confusion as to when the Spaniard's contract expires but football.london understands that the Gunners activated a one-year extension clause in his contract late last year, tying Monreal to the club until the summer of 2020.
Arsenal receive double injury boost ahead of crucial Europa League clash with Valencia
Arsenal do not tend to announce these extensions as a matter of course - they similarly did not formally confirm that they had activated options in the contracts of Santi Cazorla and Per Mertesacker in 2017.
Though Monreal, who is currently sidelined with a calf injury, is tied to Arsenal for another year that does not necessarily preclude his departure in the summer transfer window.
The 33-year-old has long been linked with a return to Spain, most recently with La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Sociedad.
Arsenal are expected to target a new left-back in the summer transfer window - they have been linked with Celtic's Kieran Tierney and Nicolas Tagliafico of Ajax - and could offload either of their current options in the position, Monreal and Sead Kolasinac.
Monreal has struggled in recent months against pacey wingers when played at full-back. However the veteran defender has impressed on the left-side of a three man defence and would be a versatile option in Emery's squad.
Monreal arrived at Arsenal in January 2013 for an £8.5million fee. Since then he has made 243 appearances for the Gunners.
Granit Xhaka offers revealing insight into Arsenal mentality after three straight defeats
Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android .
Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .
