Arsenal are set to pick up contract talks with Mikel Arteta, with an expectation at the club that the manager will ultimately commit and renew his deal.
Sami Mokbel reports for the BBC that Arsenal and Mikel Arteta initially shelved contract talks to focus on the end of the 2025/26 campaign, but those negotiations will pick up again over the summer.
It’s not expected that there will be any final decision taken until Arteta returns from holiday, but there was positive progress during initial conversations, and the expectation at the Emirates is that it’s a case of when he renews, rather than if.
All the same, the club are remaining cautious, and a new contract would require a major increase on Arteta’s current wages – of up to £15m a season. With Pep Guardiola leaving Manchester City, such an increase would make Arteta the Premier League’s best-paid manager.
Sam Wallace confirms for The Telegraph that during contract talks in January, Arteta suggested that he’d need a very significant increase on his current terms.
Wallace claims there’s still much to be negotiated before manager and club can reach an agreement, and Arteta will likely insist on being the highest-paid manager in the Premier League.
Arsenal will obviously be keen to keep Arteta, given he’s just led the club to the Premier League title and the Champions League and League Cup finals. But they’ll also likely have their limits for how much they’re willing to offer the manager.
From a fan perspective, the hope will be that the two parties can quickly find a compromise and announce an extension before the summer is out. Managerial contract conversations will only serve as a distraction when the new season gets underway.
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