Mikel Arteta Close to Signing New Deal with Arsenal – BBC Sport
BBC Homepage
Skip to content
Accessibility Help
Your account
Home
News
Sport
Earth
Reel
Worklife
Travel
Culture
Future
Music
TV
Weather
Sounds
More menu
More menu
Search BBC
Home
News
Sport
Earth
Reel
Worklife
Travel
Culture
Future
Music
TV
Weather
Sounds
Close menu
BBC Sport
Menu
Home
Football
Cricket
Formula 1
Rugby U
Tennis
Golf
Cycling
Athletics
More
A-Z Sports
American Football
Athletics
Basketball
Boxing
Cricket
Cycling
Darts
Disability Sport
Football
Formula 1
Gaelic Games
Golf
Gymnastics
Horse Racing
Mixed Martial Arts
Motorsport
Netball
Rugby League
Rugby Union
Snooker
Swimming
Tennis
Full Sports A-Z
More from Sport
England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
Quizzes
News Feeds
Help & FAQs
Arsenal
Scores & Fixtures
Table
Live Match Updates
Transfers
Ask Me Anything
Who Am I? Quiz
Arsenal close to finalising new contract for Arteta
Image source:
Image caption:
Arteta was appointed Arsenal boss in December 2019
By
Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent
Published 9 minutes ago
The perception of Arsenal’s transfer window varies depending on who you speak to – but there will be no disagreement from anyone at the Emirates Stadium over how crucial their next expected signing will be. With the market closed until January, the club are now in the process of finalising an agreement with manager Mikel Arteta over his protracted new contract.
Well-placed sources indicate those discussions have moved forward recently amid full confidence from those involved in talks that the Spaniard will renew. Indeed, Arteta moved unequivocally last month to remove any lingering doubt over his future:
"Everybody feels comfortable that the timing of the contract is not going to be an issue because my will certainly is to be here and I’m very happy here."
"My feeling from the club is the same one. That’s why everyone is doing things in a very organic way."
Similarly, Arsenal’s chief executive Richard Garlick has said it was merely a "matter of time" before Arteta’s new long-term deal was confirmed.
Arteta can expect to become one of the best paid managers in world football once his new contract is signed – Arsenal committed to significantly improving on his current deal, worth £10m a season plus an extra £5m upon Champions League qualification.
For Arsenal supporters, the official announcement can’t come soon enough, particularly given his current deal now has just nine months left to run.
Since his appointment in December 2019, Arteta has transformed Arsenal from a club that had lost its Champions League status to one that won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years last season. They are overwhelming favourites to retain their domestic crown and are fancied to win their first-ever Champions League this season.
With that success comes power. Like Arsene Wenger before him, Arteta is categorically the most influential figure, certainly from a football perspective, at the club.
People will say that the manager or head coach should always be the most authoritative figure at any football club – the reality is that is rarely the case. Arteta’s fingerprints are all over the club – and most importantly the squad. Nothing happens from a first-team perspective without his approval.
When Arsenal tried to sign Julian Alvarez and Vinicius Jr last month, it was Arteta who was at the forefront of the club’s charm offensive.
With that in mind, the thought of removing Arteta from that dynamic, certainly for Arsenal’s ownership, is the unthinkable.
One day, Spain will come calling – and a return to his homeland may attract Arteta, although he knows he is unlikely to be afforded the same authority at either Real Madrid or Barcelona – clubs that are historically entrenched in internal politics – than he is now.
But at this moment, the attraction for Arteta is with Arsenal.
This is a squad that has flourished under his guidance, and the future looks even brighter.
