Mikel Arteta has opened up on his new contract at Arsenal and says a shared belief with the Gunners’ ownership was behind his decision to commit to the club.
Arsenal have announced that Arteta has signed an extension to his deal at the Emirates, signing a contract that will keep him in North London until the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
The Spaniard has overseen steady progress since his appointment in December 2019, with the Gunners currently fourth in the Premier League and chasing a return to the Champions League.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash with Leeds, Arteta said both his and the ownership’s ambitions are aligned as the club look forward to the future.
“I am delighted because it shows a real commitment on both sides about what want to do together in this beautiful journey,” he told his pre-match press conference.
“We have the same plans and ambitions, we share the same belief and the same passion and same level of trust about each other and how we are doing it. I’m rally excited about what we can do together.
“The club was so decisive and committed to doing it now. They wanted to bring clarity, to recruit players and to keep them. I was very clear I was ready to commit here. I’m very happy here and there is still a job to do.”
Arteta discussed his plans for next season and recruitment, having overseen an overhaul of his squad last summer.
The club’s youthful side have shown encouraging signs this season and the 40-year-old admits he is always striving for improvement, in terms of both new additions and the development of his current squad.
“We want to improve the team and the squad. Obviously we know there is not a player without a margin to improve and evolve. We want to retain our best players and add more quality and depth into that to be more competitive.
“We have to be really prepared with when we do that and why we want to do it. In principle, we always want to keep our best players and get better.”
