Arteta assures Arsenal fans he is not leaving

Mikel Arteta has told Arsenal fans not to worry about his future with the Premier League champions. He is entering the final year of his contract as Gunners manager.

Arteta led Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 22 years in May. Many expected him to sign a new contract as a reward for this historic win.

The Gunners will kick off their 2026-27 season against Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday. But there have been few signs that Arteta is close to signing a new deal.

Arteta joined Arsenal in 2019. His last contract extension was in 2024. He is confident that another deal will be worked out.

“They don’t have to worry about any of that, because I want to be here,” he told reporters on Friday.

“I am extremely happy. I feel very grateful to work with the people that I work with and when we have the possibility, we will resolve that. And that’s it.”

Arteta hinted that he has focused more on transfers this summer rather than his contract. He reassured fans not to be concerned.

“There is always another priority, I think! That’s the way we have been treating it, I think because everybody feels comfortable that the time on the contract is not going to be an issue,” he said.

“My will, certainly, is to be here and I am very happy here. My feeling from the club is the same one. That is why everyone is doing things in a really organic way.”

Arsenal has strengthened their title-winning squad by signing Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes and Club Brugge forward Christos Tzolis.

They also made Piero Hincapie’s loan from Bayern Leverkusen permanent and brought in Illan Meslier on a free transfer.

Arteta tried to sign Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior but was unsuccessful. This summer, Manchester City, Tottenham, and Chelsea have all spent £100 million ($135 million) on a single player.

But Arteta is not worried about Arsenal losing their title to one of these big-spending rivals.

“I am really happy with the squad, the players that I have and I am really happy with the ambition of the club,” said Arteta, who is linked with Villa’s Ezri Konsa and Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah to boost Arsenal’s defense.

“There is zero question about that and we have shown that in the manner we have tried to act, but I think we need to do it our own way.

“We have super strengths and we have other areas we need to be very conscious of because we don’t have the elements or the structure that other clubs have.

“We need to do it our way. We are always on it that way and we will do what we believe is the right thing to do. To have the best possibility to compete in every competition, that’s for sure.