By Sulaimon Jamiu
Arsenal have announced that Mikel Arteta has signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until the end of the 2024/25 season, with the manager laying out his ambitions to steer them into the Champions League.
The Gunners are currently fourth in the Premier League, meaning they would qualify for a spot at Europe’s elite table for the first time in six years, and the ambitious Arteta has vowed to take them to the ‘next level’.
He has put pen to paper on a new three-year deal alongside women’s boss Jonas Eidevall, with the club opting for a double signing at the Emirates Stadium, according to ESPN.
Reacting to the step, an ecstatic Arteta emphasised the importance of the Champions League and praised the work of the Kroenke owners.
‘I’m excited, grateful and really, really happy today”, Arteta told Sky Sports.
“When I spoke to Josh (Kroenke) he could see the club at the same point and he wanted to take the club the way I wanted to do it.
“So everything that he’s said, and that Stan (Kroenke) has said when I’ve been together with both of them, they’ve always delivered.
‘We want to take the club to the next level and to compete really with the top teams. In order to do that, we have to be playing in the Champions League.
”We have to be able to evolve the team, improve our players, improve all departments, generate even more connection with our fans, improve the atmosphere at the Emirates, be able to recruit top, top talent and the best people for this club to drive this project to that level.”
Both Arteta and Eidevall signed their contracts together in the directors’ box at the north London ground, with chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, technical director Edu Gaspar and head of women’s football Clare Wheatley also present.
Eidevall has enjoyed a successful first season with Arsenal, with the title race in the Women’s Super League heading down to the wire in the final weekend. His extension will run until the end of the 2023/24 campaign, meanwhile.
“It’s great,” he said. “It allows me to continue to work for a club that I love so much and be around people that I really, really like, and to be able to achieve things together, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
Arteta was appointed in December 2019 and has won the FA Cup and the Community Shield. He had 12 months to run on his previous deal.
Arsenal have not secured a top-four finish since 2015-16, but currently lead fierce rivals Tottenham by two points with just four games remaining.
