Arsenal turn focus to Mikel Arteta contract as transfer window closes

The Arsenal manager’s current deal runs until 2027, but there has been no new agreement yet. Given that he joined the club in December 2019 and is now the longest-serving manager in the Premier League, the next decision over his future is becoming increasingly important.

The timing feels familiar.

Arteta last signed a new contract in September 2024, shortly after the transfer window shut, and talks over his future have been taking place on and off since the start of this year.

Arteta has not rushed the process, largely because his focus has been elsewhere. At the end of last season, his priority was results and success. Once the campaign finished, attention shifted to the summer window and the players Arsenal needed to improve again.

Now that the squad is set, his own future can move back to the top of the agenda.

His last 2 extensions were both 3-year deals, and there is every chance Arsenal could follow the same pattern again. Arteta has consistently spoken about his love for the project, and even the frustrations of the summer market are unlikely to have changed that.

Arsenal backed him heavily. The club are aiming to defend their Premier League title this season and strengthened the squad by signing Bruno Guimaraes, a player Arteta has admired for a long time. They also made Piero Hincapie’s loan permanent and added Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa and Illan Meslier after his Leeds contract expired.

Still, they did not quite land the elite attacking signing Arteta had hoped for.

After the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, Arteta said Arsenal wanted to reach “another level” and needed to show that ambition. The club tried to do that during the transfer window.

They wanted Morgan Rogers, but Chelsea moved faster to sign him from Aston Villa. They explored the uncertainty around Vinicius Junior’s future at Real Madrid and also wanted Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid.

Arteta was involved throughout the search. He has a strong relationship with sporting director Andrea Berta and remained an important part of the discussions as Arsenal looked for a player capable of taking the team up another level. They simply could not get the ideal agreement done.

Now the window is closed, the squad is complete, and the focus can return to the manager himself.

For most of the year, Arteta has put Arsenal’s progress ahead of his own situation. He wanted the team to become stronger, build on last season’s title success and give the club the best chance to compete on every front.

Now it may finally be time for Arsenal to put the contract in front of him.