He is staying! Arsenal close in on Arteta extension after title and Saudi snubs
The Premier League champions are about to secure their most important signing of the year: Mikel Arteta is close to extending his Arsenal contract.
Details: Talks between Arteta and the club are at an advanced stage, with an agreement expected by the September international break. The Spaniard, in the final year of a deal running to 2027, currently earns around 10 million pounds per season plus a 5 million bonus for Champions League qualification, and a significant rise is expected on the new terms.
The extension caps a summer in which Arteta's stock has never been higher. Fresh from delivering Arsenal's first Premier League title in 22 years, the 44 year old turned down enquiries from Saudi giants Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, while Barcelona reportedly viewed him as a long-term option for their own dugout. Arsenal never wavered: co-chair Josh Kroenke called the renewal the club's utmost priority back in May. The numbers explain why: Arteta holds the best win percentage of any manager in the club's history, edging past even Arsene Wenger, and is closing on Herbert Chapman's games record. With a 100 percent start to the new season and a Champions League campaign underway, the project he built from scratch in 2019 is set to run deep into the next decade.
It's worth noting that reports suggest the new deal could run until 2033, which would take Arteta's reign at Arsenal towards 14 years, Wenger territory.
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Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
