After Bukayo Saka committed his long-term future to Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has provided an update on a couple more players the club are trying to tie down to new deals ahead of next season.
Bukayo Saka is the latest player to commit his future to the Gunners, following in the footsteps of Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel who have all also signed new contracts during 2022/23.
Saka becomes one of Arsenal’s highest paid players at just 21-years-old after recording 24 goals & assists in the Premier League under Mikel Arteta this season. He’s been one of the Gunners most consistent performers and has been rewarded for the outstanding year he’s had in 2023 so far.
Bukayo Saka signs new long-term contract at Arsenal. [Image Credit: Getty Images]
Bukayo Saka on signing his new deal at Arsenal: “It’s been too long since this club has had Champions League football. I’m really looking forward to Tuesday and Wednesday nights in this stadium, the atmosphere is going to be special.”
“I have seen a lot of change. I’ve seen this team and the club grow, and one thing that everyone around us can be excited about is that we are going in the right direction.”
“Time is on our side. You can look at our team and a lot of the players are young. We’re hungry, and a lot of us haven’t won trophies at Arsenal so we want to achieve big things. If you watch the way we all speak, we want to win and we want to win here.”
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Mikel Arteta was delighted that the club were able to tie Bukayo Saka down to a new long-term contract. The boss said: “As well as being a fantastic talent, Bukayo is a special person, he’s loved by us all and he is a credit to himself and his family for the hard work and commitment they have all made to get to this level today. Together with our supporters, we’re so looking forward to enjoying Bukayo’s continued development with us in the years to come.”
The Arsenal boss spoke about future contract extensions at Arsenal with club captain, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba also in talks to extend their deals at the club:
“We are working on a few more. We have gone through the season and we have tied down a very important part of the team and that’s what we wanted to do. This never stops, they keep evolving and developing.”
Mikel Arteta also mentioned the brilliant season his team have had, despite missing out on the Premier League title: “What we have achieved in bringing the Champions League. It’s special. The Premier League, 248 days on top fighting against the best team in the history of this league. In the end we fell short.”
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