Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Petr Cech urge Aaron Ramsey to stay at Arsenal

By Simon Collings

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has urged Aaron Ramsey to stay at Arsenal so he can become a club legend.

Ramsey is currently into the final year of his contract at Arsenal and he has still not signed an extension.

It means the Gunners risk being in the same situation they were in last year, when Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil had only a year to run on their deals.

Arsenal ended up cashing in on Sanchez in January by selling him to Manchester United as part of a transfer that led to Mkhitaryan going the other way.

Ozil, however, eventually penned fresh terms and now Mkhitaryan wants Ramsey to do the same, as he believes he can become a club legend.

“He has already been at this club for 10 years and it seems he became a symbol for this club,” Mkhitaryan said. “I will be very happy for him if he is going to sign a new contract because he is a history of Arsenal already.

_“And I hope he can become a legend for Arsenal after a few years.”

Mkhitaryan was full of praise for Ramsey yesterday as he discussed his team-mates future at a fan event in Singapore, where Arsenal are currently touring.

Mkhitaryan explained how it is a joy to play with the Welsh midfielder as his game is so complete and he can offer so much.

“Well his work-rate is very, very high and everyone appreciates what he does on the pitch — and off the pitch because he is truly professional,” Mkhitaryan added.

“Of course it is going to be very easy to play next to him because he does a great job on the pitch.

“He tries to be everywhere to help the team, to score goals, to assist, to tackle, to recover balls, so that is why I am going to be very happy if he stays in this club.”

Arsenal want to tie Ramsey down to a new contract and the 27-year-old confirmed yesterday talks are ongoing.

“We’ll see what happens but my agent and the club are talking. I’m just leaving that to them to discuss and sort out.

“We’re yet to come to an agreement so that’s something that my agent and the club are discussing.

“Talks are still ongoing, but I’ve got nothing more to say about that,” Ramsey said.

The Wales international’s team-mates want him to stay too and Petr Cech echoed the words of Mkhitaryan.

The goalkeeper wants Ramsey to extend his stay at Arsenal, as he is keen for the club to keep all their best players.

However, he says the situation needs to be resolved quickly.

“That’s a private matter for the club and the player,” said Cech.

“Obviously we would like to keep all the best players with us.

Hopefully his situation will be sorted out as quickly as possible.

“It’s more for the player that he has the feeling that his situation is resolved and he can purely concentrate on the game.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal chairman Chips Keswick insists Ivan Gazidis is “fully committed” to Arsenal but did not deny reports the chief executive will be joining AC Milan.

Gazidis, who has been in the role at the Emirates Stadium since 2008, has been heavily linked with a move to the Serie A club in September following their recent takeover.

Keswick said in a statement: “We are aware of the speculation surrounding our chief executive Ivan Gazidis.

“We know he receives many offers from organisations inside and outside the game as he’s a hugely respected figure.

“He has never accepted any of these opportunities and has never spoken about them publicly.

“He has always been fully committed to taking Arsenal forward and is currently working hard in Singapore with our new head coach Unai Emery as we prepare for the new season.”