Mikel Arteta has insisted he is “really happy” at Arsenal despite contract renewal talks yet to take place.
The Arsenal manager signed his final contract in 2022, which expires at the end of the 2024-25 season. Arteta was recently linked with the next vacancy at Barcelona, with Xavi set to step down this summer, but dismissed the rumors as “fake news” in January.
When asked if there were any updates on his current contract, he replied: “No, I’m really happy. I still have one year of contract, that’s a long time in football. The players are happy, the club is happy, no problem.
“I only focus on the matches and the victories. This is the most important thing right now.
Arteta also built up Bukayo Saka’s fitness after the winger withdrew from England duty in March and limped off after 78 minutes against Manchester City.
“He was not with the national team because he was injured,” he explained. “He [Saka] he had a muscle problem and then he trained very little, then he played [against Man City] and we had to remove it because the risk of re-injuring the player was quite high.
“I hope that today he can train and that he is well, he has done it several times. He is a really robust player and [hopefully] we can have him for the rest of the games.
“It was more of a muscle problem than a knock but he’s a player who has a lot of contact. He’s had so many minutes under his belt over the last few seasons, and he has to be managed.”
GO FURTHER
Liverpool and Arsenal test Manchester City in a new way – which of the three will come out on top?