Mikel Arteta, aged 42, has a contract expiring in summer 2025. Originally, renewal talks were slated after last season, but now the focus has shifted. Arteta remains optimistic, stating, “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. 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.”
Arteta also discussed Arsenal’s summer transfer ambitions, emphasizing a proactive approach beyond bolstering their attack. “We are looking to improve in every possible department,” he explained. “With the new regulations, there are certain things we have to respect and be conscious of and then obviously the Euros and Copa América are slowing everything down. Hopefully, now it is going to pick up a little bit because we have things to go and we will try to provide that. [How active do we expect to be?] I think both ways. There are things that we have to improve, that’s for sure and we are going to try to do. But the market is tricky. We have been very aggressive, we are very determined and we have a clear idea obviously of what we want to do. It will come down to finding the right agreements at the right time.”
Ahead of Arsenal’s preseason, Arteta has organized a training camp in Marbella for nine non-participating Euro 2024 and Copa América players. The Gunners start their preseason against Bournemouth on July 24, followed by matches in Los Angeles against Manchester United on July 27 and in Philadelphia against Liverpool on July 31.
