Arsenal has officially announced that Mikel Arteta has signed a contract extension to remain with the club. The highly-rated manager was previously set to become a free agent following the 2024/25 season. Nevertheless, the new deal will keep the Spaniard with the North London side until 2027.
As he was entering his final year under contract, many Arsenal fans were anxious about the situation. Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, two of the coach’s former teams, were even among those to register interest in hiring Arteta. However, both the Spaniard and Arsenal remained calm and confident that an agreement would be finalized.
Arteta is expected to receive a substantial raise on his former $11.7 million annual contract. He was already the second-highest-paid coach in the Premier League only behind Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. The City manager rakes in around $26 million per year. Arsenal will now give Arteta a salary somewhere in between these two figures.
Arteta revamps Arsenal roster, earns new contract at Emirates
While Arteta was in the running to potentially replace legendary manager Arsene Wenger in 2018, Arsenal opted to bring in Unai Emery instead. The move proved to be a mistake. Arteta eventually entered the fray after Emery’s sacking in 2019.
The inexperienced coach initially experienced growing pains in his first coaching job with the Gunners. There were even calls for Arsenal to make yet another change at the helm. Nevertheless, the Spaniard has since proved to be one of the top coaches in all of Europe. He even guided the club to the FA Cup trophy in his first season as head coach.
This triumph came at a time in which Arsenal was dealing with an aging and underperforming squad. Under Arteta, the club has essentially cleaned house and overhauled a majority of their roster. Just five players remain with the club since the Spaniard took over in late 2019. Two of these players, Reiss Nelson and Kieran Tierney, will not remain with the team much longer.
“We’re delighted to have extended Mikel’s contract,” proclaimed Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke. “Mikel is a dynamic and passionate manager, who is relentless in the pursuit of excellence. He has a deep understanding of Arsenal’s values, and since joining us as head coach in December 2019, he has taken the team to another level in an Arsenal way.”
“There is a great collective team spirit at the club, and with the strong relationships we hold between us and belief in what we do, we look forward with excitement and confidence, as we continue our aim – to win together.”
Coach must bring more trophies to the club
While Arteta has done a solid job with Arsenal, there is still work to do. The manager has helped mold the squad to his liking, which has included several major signings. The Kroenke family has fully backed the coach in this department as well. A string of successful offseason transfers in recent years has given the club one of the more talented squads in Europe.
Despite this, Arteta has not delivered a major trophy since the aforementioned FA Cup. The manager now needs to take the next step in his career and bring additional trophies to the team. This not only includes triumphs in knockout tournaments but also the Premier League.
Arsenal has come close to the ultimate prize in recent years, yet they have not been able to overcome City’s dominance. Arteta needs to get over the hump and deliver some significant silverware soon. The Gunners have not collected the Premier League title since 2004 and have never won the UEFA Champions League trophy.
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