Saka hails Arteta 'dream' as Arsenal boss agrees bumper new deal

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Bukayo Saka has credited Mikel Arteta with getting "everyone dreaming again" at Arsenal, with the manager understood to have agreed an extension to a contract that was due to expire at the end of the season.

As reported by the Evening Standard, the 44-year-old is set for a significant pay rise after leading Arsenal to the Premier League title in May, ending the club's 22-year wait for a top-flight crown.

The new deal would take Arteta beyond a decade in the Arsenal dugout. He is already the longest-serving manager in England's top four divisions, having arrived in December 2019.

Saka: 'He deserves it'

Few players are better placed to assess the Arteta era than Saka. The winger made his senior Arsenal debut the year before the Spaniard's appointment and has been a fixture in the side throughout the entirety of his reign.

Speaking while on England duty, Saka told talkSPORT: "Yeah, special manager and very important to the club.

"Hence why they gave him a new deal because he deserves it. And yeah, he's really transformed the club and got everyone dreaming again.

"So credit to him, he deserves it. I'm happy for him."

Saka's own trajectory mirrors the club's under Arteta. He has gone from a teenager filling in at left-back in a struggling side to one of the first names on the team sheet for both club and country, playing a central role in the title-winning campaign.

An announcement long expected

An extension has been anticipated for some time, with Arsenal consistently clear that they wanted to retain Arteta. The delay was reportedly down to timing rather than doubt: the manager wanted the focus at the end of last season to remain on the pitch, and then on the summer transfer window.

Arteta himself dropped heavy hints last week that the paperwork was close to being completed.

"We are all very much aligned," he said. "Whenever the time is right, we will get that done. There is nothing to be concerned about. We have the same ambition and the same will.

"Whenever we have time, we will get that resolved."

The context around this renewal is different to any that came before it. Arteta's previous extensions were signed on the promise of progress; this one follows delivery, with the Premier League trophy finally back at the Emirates after more than two decades away.

For Arsenal, the continuity matters. Arteta has overseen a near-total rebuild of the squad, the recruitment structure and the training-ground culture since 2019, and tying him down removes the one piece of uncertainty hanging over the project as the club looks to defend its crown.

Formal confirmation from the club is now expected to follow, bringing an end to the speculation surrounding the manager's future.