Arsenal will reportedly offer boss Mikel Arteta a new three-year deal this summer in a bid to secure his long-term future at the Emirates Stadium.
The Spaniard’s contract in north London runs out in the summer of 2023 but he is believed to have the confidence of owner Stan Kroenke.
Now The Sun report the Gunners are preparing to hand the 39-year-old – who is currently the youngest Premier League manager – a £25million deal once the current campaign comes to an end.
The report claims that contract will involve a yearly salary of £8.3m – an increase of £3.3m from his current £5m salary – which is the same figure legendary boss Arsene Wenger was earning before he left the club in 2018.
The wages however still fall far short of his former Manchester City colleague Pep Guardiola, who reportedly earns around £20m per year at the Premier League champions.
Arteta’s counterpart in north London at Tottenham, Antonio Conte, and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp both pocket around £15m per year, while even under-fire Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers is paid double Arteta’s salary.
The former midfielder’s job title was upgraded from first-team coach to manager in September 2020 following the club’s FA Cup triumph, but that was not believed to have been accompanied by a pay rise.
But these latest reports represent significant progress for Arteta, who at times was fighting to save his job last season.
Arteta said in December that no talks over a new deal had taken place, although the Spaniard was spotted in Denver where he held face-to-face talks with billionaire owner Kroenke and his son Josh last month.
‘No, we haven’t discussed anything like that,’ Arteta said last year.
‘I think we have many other priorities at the moment that are far more important than that.
‘I don’t know [if we will have talks in the summer], really I’m not thinking about that. I’m just trying to get the best out of the team, trying to cope with all the situations that we are facing at the moment. Things will happen naturally.’
Arteta replaced fellow Basque Unai Emery in December 2019 and has gone on to overhaul his squad in his 26 months in the job so far.
