Soccer

Mikel Arteta agrees new contract as Arsenal manager to 2027

Spaniard took charge in 2019 and has two second-place finishes but his deal had entered its final 12 months

Mikel Arteta has agreed a new deal with Arsenal to 2027. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA Wire
Mikel Arteta has agreed a new deal with Arsenal to 2027. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA Wire
Ed Aarons
Thu Sept 12 2024 - 09:55

Mikel Arteta has ended any uncertainty over his future after agreeing a new three-year deal with Arsenal. Negotiations over an extension had been taking place for some time, with Arteta admitting in June the situation “motivates me, keeps me on my toes, and it keeps me hungry to go again” after he led Arsenal to successive second-place finishes in the Premier League.

Arteta, appointed in December 2019, had entered the final 12 months of a previous extension that he signed in May 2022. He said at the end of last month that talks had been put on hold until the transfer window closed but called for calm among supporters after he was linked with his former club Barcelona in the summer.

An agreement for Arteta to remain until 2027 is understood to have been reached. Arsenal will next line out in Sunday’s north London derby at Tottenham.

“I’m in the place where I want to be and am really happy – hopefully the club thinks the same thing,” he said last month. “I work with the players every day and when I am talking to them, having discussions and planning things, you sense in their eyes that belief and hunger is still there.”

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Arteta was an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before succeeding Unai Emery at the Emirates and won the FA Cup in his first season. Arsenal have been transformed into title contenders under their former midfielder but missed out again to City last season despite picking up 89 points – a total bettered at Arsenal only by Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles.

Arteta will be without three key midfielders on Sunday, with Declan Rice suspended after his red card against Brighton and Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino injured. Arsenal hope the forward Gabriel Jesus could play some part after he missed the past two matches with a groin injury.