David Ornstein gives Mikel Arteta contract update | OneFootball

David Ornstein reports that though there are no concrete updates on Mikel Arteta’s future, the signs suggest he’ll extend his contract with Arsenal.

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal FC at Molineux on April 20, 2024. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta currently only has a year left on his contract, raising concerns that he may run down his deal or be tempted away by a new project this summer.

There are particular links to Barcelona and Manchester City, with Barcelona deciding to part ways with Xavi and Pep Guardiola looking increasingly likely to leave City next summer.

Yet David Ornstein suggests that there are no signs that Arteta is planning to leave, and it currently seems as if both manager and club want to continue together.

Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta reacts from the sidelines during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg football match between FC Bayern Munich and Arsenal FC in Munich, southern Germany on April 17, 2024. (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)

“I see a manager who appears to want to continue in this project,” Ornstein told The Athletic. “And a club who definitely do not want to lose him.

“My assumption is that they just need to sit down, have a conversation, get the numbers right, the vision, the project, and everything. Be on the same page.

“Then I’ve got nothing to suggest that they won’t continue [together].

“There’s definitely going to be interest in Mikel Arteta from elsewhere, now and in the future. We’ve already seen links to Barcelona and others.

“[But] this appears to be a very happy marriage, and no evidence to suggest it will not continue, although we don’t have any updates on talks just yet.”

LONDON, ENGLAND: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, gives the team instructions during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Luton Town at Emirates Stadium on April 03, 2024. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

With the season now over, you’d expect that Arteta’s contract talks would start to move up the agenda.

Arsenal have done an excellent job of renewing the deals of their best players in recent years, with Edu Gaspar recently claiming “we have renewed 100% of players we wanted to renew”.

But Arteta’s contract situation is starting to get worryingly close to that 2025 expiry date, and this is pretty much the closest he’s ever been to his contract’s end as manager. It’s something to address.