Arsenal have secured long-term deals for five of their young British players, with Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson all signing contract extensions.
The club have lost several top players in recent years, including Robin van Persie to Manchester United and Cesc Fábregas to Barcelona, so the announcement comes as a significant boost at a difficult time for Arsène Wenger.
The 20-year-old Wilshere, one of England's most exciting young midfield prospects, and the 23-year-old defender Gibbs rose through Arsenal's youth ranks.
Ramsey, the 21-year-old Wales midfielder, has been with Arsenal since 2008. Oxlade-Chamberlain, 19, joined from Southampton in 2011, and the 20-year-old defender Jenkinson arrived from Charlton.
Wenger told the club's website: "We are delighted that these five young players have all signed new long-term contracts. The plan is to build a team around a strong basis of young players, in order to get them to develop their talent at the Club. Jack is certainly the best known, the leader of this group – but the other four players are exceptional footballers, and we're very happy that we could conclude their new deals at the same time.
"Gibbs, Jenkinson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey and Wilshere represent a core of the squad and it's an extension for a long period for all of them. I'm a strong believer in stability and I believe when you have a core of British players, it's always easier to keep them together and that's what we'll try to achieve going forward."
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