Mikel Arteta has agreed an improved contract with Arsenal, tying the Premier League champions to the manager who ended their 22-year title wait. His previous deal had been due to run out at the end of the 2026-27 season.
The exact length of the extension has not been disclosed. The Spaniard is set to move sharply up from his current £10m annual salary plus £5m in Champions League bonuses, into the very highest bracket of managerial earners in the game.
The Kroenke pitch, made in May
Arsenal’s co-chair, Josh Kroenke, put the club’s position on the record within days of the title being confirmed.
“Keeping Mikel around is [an] utmost priority,” Kroenke said, calling Arteta “an Arsenal man through and through.”
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Kroenke handed “100 per cent credit” for the club’s turnaround to Arteta, his staff and the players, having taken Arsenal from mid-table when he replaced Unai Emery in December 2019.
Arteta’s own line
The manager had already flagged his intent to stay long before the ink was dry.
“Everybody feels comfortable that the timing of the contract is not going to be an issue because my will certainly is to be here and I’m very happy here,” Arteta said this month.
Arsenal’s chief executive, Richard Garlick, had struck the same note in early September, calling a new deal “only a matter of time.”
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Champions and runners-up in a fortnight
The renewal is Arsenal’s answer to a season that ended eleven days apart in triumph and defeat.
On 19 May 2026 they were confirmed as Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years, when Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth left the pursuers out of reach.
On 30 May in Budapest, they lost the Champions League final on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain, after Kai Havertz’s opener had been cancelled out by an Ousmane Dembélé penalty.
The title defence has started well
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League table on goal difference from Manchester City after the opening rounds of the 2026-27 season, according to the standings this month.
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