Mikel Arteta signs new Arsenal contract

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 13 Sep 2024 07:01 CDT
• 4 min read

Mikel Arteta has signed a new three-year contract with Arsenal, keeping the Spanish manager with the Gunners until 2027.

Negotiations over the contract have been ongoing for several months and the fact that Arteta’s previous deal was due to expire at the end of this season was a source of some concern at the Emirates Stadium.

Both the club and the manager, though, were always confident that an agreement could be found, and Arsenal have officially announced that a deal has been struck.

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Upon news of his contract extension, Arteta said: "I feel extremely proud, very excited and am looking forward to what is coming next. I’m proud to be where I am and have the relationships that I have with everyone at the club.

“I feel extremely lucky to work every single day with good people and the ambition we have here. I feel very inspired, I feel challenged, I feel supported and I want to do much more than what we’ve already done together.

“Together with the players and everyone at the club, we are looking forward to the coming years, with our supporters, who have emotionally transformed the club and the team.

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"Our supporters have transformed individuals and we are different now. You can tell that we are different and for me, that is down to them. We look forward to continuing the journey together."

FootballTransfers exclusively reported in February that the Gunners were aiming for a three-year deal for Arteta, which includes a major pay rise for the Spaniard.

Arteta central to Arsenal's recovery

Arteta, 42, has played a leading role in rekindling the fortunes of Arsenal and making the Emirates club a genuine contender for the Premier League title once more. He has led them to successive runners-up spots while last year they pushed the race with Manchester City to the final day of the season.

Having initially been an assistant manager to Pep Guardiola at City, he took over from Unai Emery at the Emirates in December 2019, when the club was in the grip of a crisis.

He immediately stamped his own impression on the team, notably welcoming back embattled captain Granit Xhaka to the side, which proved an inspired move as Arsenal’s fortunes slowly started to turn around.

Arteta has now taken charge of the Gunners on 234 occasions, with 142 of those games ending in victory – a win percentage of 60.7%.

Arsenal have made a positive start to the 2024/25 campaign, with two wins and a draw from their first three Premier League outings, but they face a major test on Sunday, when they travel to Tottenham for the North London derby.

The Gunners are set to be without three potential starters in midfield for that game, with Martin Odegaard likely joining Mikel Merino and Declan Rice on the sidelines in what will be another huge test of Arteta’s mettle.