Arsenal have agreed fresh terms with manager Mikel Arteta and are pushing to extend contracts for Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice — a wave of commitment that arrives in the wake of a 3-0 defeat at Brighton that ended the club's perfect start to the season.
Arteta's existing deal, signed in September 2024, was set to run out at the end of the current campaign. A verbal agreement is now in place, with a formal announcement expected before the international break concludes. The new arrangement is understood to carry him into his tenth year as Arsenal manager, meaning it will run until at least 2029, and includes a pay rise on his current terms of around £10 million per season plus a £5 million bonus for Champions League participation.
Arteta was clear about his intentions before Brighton held Arsenal on Saturday. "I think we are all very much aligned," he told The Guardian. "Whenever the time is right, we'll get that done. There is nothing to be concerned about. I think we both have the same ambition and the same will."
The deal will not be struck in isolation. Members of Arteta's backroom team — which includes assistants Albert Stuivenberg and Gabriel Heinze, first-team coach Miguel Molina, goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana and set-piece specialist Nicolas Jover — are also in the process of signing new contracts, with those agreements already done.
On the playing side, captain Odegaard is on course for improved terms despite a period in which knee problems disrupted both his availability and his form. His current contract runs until 2028, yet Arsenal are eager to offer him greater security beyond that. Timber's new deal is expected to be finalised shortly, with the defender having grown steadily more central to Arteta's plans since arriving from Ajax.
Rice, meanwhile, has entered the final two years of his deal. Arsenal hold an option to add a further 12 months but prefer to agree fresh long-term terms in keeping with how they have handled other key players. Talks have begun and the club are keen to resolve his situation without delay.
Arteta took charge in December 2019 and has since won an FA Cup, three Community Shields and, last season, Arsenal's first Premier League title in 22 years. He also guided the club to only their second Champions League final, which they lost on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest. His tenure makes him the longest-serving manager in the Premier League following Pep Guardiola's exit from Manchester City at the end of last season.
Arsenal had won all seven of their matches across all competitions before the Brighton result, which prevented them from equalling their best-ever start to a season — eight straight wins, set 123 years ago. They return to action on 10 October, with Leeds United and Lille to follow in quick succession at the Emirates.
Reporting: TeamTalk, Football.London, Mirror, Evening Standard, GiveMeSport, Sky Sports, The Guardian, CaughtOffside.