Charles Watts reports that Arsenal and Mikel Arteta will hold talks over a new contract this summer, with the manager’s current deal expiring in 2025.
Arteta hadn’t been thinking about his future with Arsenal still competing in the Premier League title race, but Watts writes that he has “no doubt” the manager will now extend before the start of next season.
That won’t happen immediately though, with Arteta first planning to go away on holiday with his family in Spain. Talks will begin once he returns.
David Ornstein recently reported that despite links with the likes of Barcelona and Manchester City, there are no signs that Arteta is planning to leave, and it currently seems as if both manager and club want to continue together.
“I see a manager who appears to want to continue in this project,” Ornstein told The Athletic. “And a club who definitely do not want to lose him.
“My assumption is that they just need to sit down, have a conversation, get the numbers right, the vision, the project, and everything. Be on the same page.
“Then I’ve got nothing to suggest that they won’t continue [together].
“There’s definitely going to be interest in Mikel Arteta from elsewhere, now and in the future. We’ve already seen links to Barcelona and others.
“[But] this appears to be a very happy marriage, and no evidence to suggest it will not continue, although we don’t have any updates on talks just yet.”
Arsenal have done an excellent job of renewing the deals of their best players in recent years, with Edu Gaspar recently claiming “we have renewed 100% of players we wanted to renew”.
The task now is to make sure the same is true of the club’s key staff members this summer, with Arteta’s deal a top priority.