Arsenal set to ruin Liverpool and Man City transfer hopes as Mikel Arteta ‘very confident’

Mikel Arteta hails Jesus after first goals for Arsenal

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Mikel Arteta has admitted that he is expecting Bukayo Saka to sign a new and improved contract at Arsenal to dent Liverpool and Manchester City’s hopes of snapping him up in the near future. Saka has firmly established himself as one of Arsenal’s most influential players since breaking into the first-team picture and looks set to play a hugely important role for the Gunners over the course of the campaign ahead.

The England ace featured in every single Premier League game for Arsenal last season, chipping in with a total of 11 goals in the process, and is seemingly in line to be rewarded for his strong form with a new long-term deal at the Emirates Stadium. Arteta revealed on Friday that Arsenal have reached an agreement with Saka and his representatives, with the player now able to rubber-stamp his extended stay in north London by signing on the dotted line.

“I am very confident that we as a club and Bukayo and his family and agent are all aligned and now it’s about putting that on a piece of paper,” the Arsenal boss told reporters in Friday’s press conference.

“I would like that to get done because I don’t want players to be distracted in the season. But those things take time.”

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If Saka decides to commit his long-term future to the Gunners by finalising his new deal over the coming weeks, it would strike a blow to a number of the club’s Premier League rivals, who have been linked with his services over the last few months. Liverpool have long been credited with a desire to bring Saka to Anfield, while City were mentioned in connection with the 20-year-old earlier this summer as a potential replacement for Raheem Sterling.

Saka is undoubtedly one of the finest academy graduates that Arsenal have produced in recent years and looks set to form a crucial part of the squad’s young core for at least the next few seasons. Former Tottenham defender Alan Hutton recently argued that a new deal for Saka could provide a welcome boost to the entire dressing room in the knowledge that one of their most important forwards would be there to stay on a long-term basis.

“I can only go off my experiences and it was nothing that ever bothered me or anybody round about me,” Hutton told Football Insider when quizzed on the prospect of an internal mutiny if Saka becomes Arsenal’s highest earner.

“Don’t get me wrong, if it was somebody who wasn’t playing, who was sitting in the stands and threw his toys out the pram then of course you’re going to be annoyed with it, but Saka is someone who loves playing football, always plays with a smile on his face, always gives 110 per cent.

“He’s scoring goals, he’s assisting, he’s playing at a high level so why would you begrudge somebody that if they deserve it? Ultimately they’re making you and your team better so you have no reason to complain.”

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