Arsenal preparing to offer Mikel Arteta bumper new contract after Stan Kroenke talks

Arteta reflects on Arsenal's win over Brentford

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Arsenal are set to end speculation about Mikel Arteta leaving North London when his contract expires in 16 months. The Gunners are preparing to offer the Spaniard a new contract, which should fend off interest from Manchester City.

The Athletic revealed that the Etihad Stadium outfit were keeping tabs on Arteta’s progress with the Gunners and viewed him as a potential successor of Pep Guardiola when he leaves the club.

But a new deal for Arteta would certainly dent City’s hopes of that happening.

The Arsenal boss is set to be offered a three-year contract extension that will see him earn £8.3million-per-year, reports The Sun – the same amount that Arsene Wenger received during the final year of his tenure at the club.

Arteta’s spending spree in the summer certainly suggested that the higher powers at Arsenal have the utmost faith in the Spaniard, and thus a new deal is no great surprise.

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The former Everton midfielder spent £150m ahead of the start of the season to strengthen his side and gain a strong, youthful core to his squad.

Aaron Ramsdale, Benjamin White and Takehiro Tomiyasu have all thrived since making the move to the Emirates, with Martin Odegaard also starting to kick on having made his loan move from Real Madrid permanent.

The departure of 16 players in just over two years also indicates that the Gunners are completely onboard with Arteta, especially as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was allowed to leave on a free transfer last month despite being, on his day, one of the most lethal stars at the club.

Arsenal are currently sitting in sixth place in the Premier League, four points outside of the top four – though they do have three games in hand.

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The team are improving with every performance and look more than capable of securing themselves Champions League football for next season, which many fans may not have been deemed a potential target after a woeful start to the campaign.

Following defeats in their opening three games of the season, Arteta’s days appeared numbered, but owner Stan Kroenke had every faith in the manager and was convinced that it was simply a minor blip.

But Arsenal’s good form and unbeaten runs have quickly made them a very competitive side, with academy graduate Bukayo Saka impressing on a weekly basis.

Like Arteta, the English winger is expected to be offered a new deal in the capital soon.

Football.london reporter Chris Wheatley revealed that amid links with Liverpool, Arsenal are keen to offer the 20-year-old a bumper contract that will make him one of the highest earners at the club – assuming he accepts.

Wheatley said: “He will certainly be offered a deal that will put him among Arsenal’s highest-paid players. After bonuses, it is possible that it would see him as the club’s top earner.

“It’s not particularly surprising. Saka is a huge commercial asset for Arsenal – the face of his club and country – and continues to show why he is the most important player in the team. For those reasons alone, Arsenal want to get the deal done as soon as possible.

“I would envision the Saka deal will take some time to conclude. His agents prolonged the extension for Folarin Balogun in order to get the best deal possible, and I’m sure they will do the same with Saka.”

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