Mikel Arteta has now broken the silence on his contract situation at Arsenal as he enters the final year of his deal.
The Gunners are heading into their third season of looking to leapfrog Manchester City at the top of the table after pushing them close over the last two seasons.
Although no new players have come through the doors just yet, Arsenal are believed to be keen on making some big additions.
Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori is the player who is being heavily linked with a potential move to Arsenal this summer.
However, the Gunners will remain eager to get their manager to put pen to paper on his own future in north London.
What Mikel Arteta has said about his Arsenal contract
Now five years into his tenure in north London, Arteta has gone into the summer with just one year remaining on his deal.
If this was a player, the Gunners would potentially be looking to cash in before they lose him for free next summer.
However, Arteta has shown his importance to this Arsenal squad having pulled them back into the title fight over recent years.
Speaking to ESPN, Arteta has finally shed some light on his contract situation as the Gunners look to tie him down to a new long-term deal.
“There is no update [on his contract] at the moment. The thing that hasn’t changed is how happy I am and how valued I feel here and how much I love representing this club,” he said.
“Things happen in a natural way and our relationship is that good that I don’t predict any issues happening. But things have to develop in the right way and it will happen.”
“I understand that but the focus now is ‘OK, how we can improve things around the team, how we can improve now the things in the transfer window that we have.’ We have time to sit down and discuss that.”
Barcelona interest expected to be shunned
However, it looks like the Spaniard is not looking to make a return to his former club in the near future as he looks to tie down his future in north London.
And that could be a big vote of confidence for those at the Emirates with the manager not looking deterred despite falling short in the race for the title.
If Arteta is to commit his future to Arsenal, it would be a huge boost for the likes of William Saliba who is counting on the Arsenal boss to stay.
