Mikel Arteta hints at new Arsenal contract: ‘i want to be here’

Mikel Arteta has reassured Arsenal supporters over his future, insisting there is no reason to be concerned as the Gunners manager enters the final year of his current contract.

Arteta ended Arsenal’s 22-year wait for the Premier League title in May and was expected to be rewarded with a new contract following the club’s historic success.

With Arsenal preparing to open their 2026/27 campaign against Manchester City in the Community Shield, there has been little indication that the Spaniard is close to signing an extension.

However, Arteta, who took charge of Arsenal in 2019, remains confident that a new agreement will eventually be reached.

“They don’t have to worry about any of that, because I want to be here,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.

The Arsenal boss added that he is extremely happy at the club and has a strong relationship with those around him.

“I am extremely happy. I feel very grateful to work with the people that I work with and when we have the possibility, we will resolve that. And that’s it,” he said.

Arteta suggested that Arsenal’s busy summer transfer activity has taken priority over discussions about his contract, while reassuring supporters that there is no reason to panic.

“There is always another priority, I think! That’s the way we have been treating it,” he explained, adding that everyone at the club is comfortable with the current situation.

“My will, certainly, is to be here and I am very happy here. My feeling from the club is the same one. That is why everyone is doing things in a really organic way.”

Arsenal have strengthened their title-winning squad during the summer with the arrivals of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle and Club Brugge forward Christos Tzolis.

The Gunners have also made Piero Hincapie’s loan move from Bayer Leverkusen permanent, while goalkeeper Illan Meslier has arrived on a free transfer.

Arteta was unable to land some of his other targets, with pursuits of Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Junior ultimately unsuccessful. The transfer window has also seen Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea each spend around £100 million ($135m) on individual players.

Despite the spending power of their Premier League rivals, Arteta is not concerned about Arsenal’s position as champions.

“I am really happy with the squad, the players that I have and I am really happy with the ambition of the club,” he said.

Arsenal have also been linked with defensive reinforcements, including Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah.

Arteta believes Arsenal must continue to operate according to their own strategy rather than trying to match the spending power of other clubs.

“There is zero question about that and we have shown that in the manner we have tried to act, but I think we need to do it our own way,” he said.

The Spaniard acknowledged that Arsenal have certain strengths but also areas where they cannot compete with the resources and structures available to some of their rivals.

“We need to do it our way. We are always on it that way and we will do what we believe is the right thing to do,” Arteta added.

His comments will provide further encouragement to Arsenal supporters, with the manager making it clear that his priority is to remain at the Emirates and continue competing for major honours.