Arteta contract: Salary, Arsenal record and transfer targets for Gunners boss after new deal

Ben Miller

Arteta contract: Salary, Arsenal record and transfer targets for Gunners boss after new deal image

Mikel Arteta says he is "excited, grateful and really, really happy" after signing a new contract as Arsenal manager, which ties him to the 13-time English champions until the end of the 2024-25 Premier League season.

The former Manchester City assistant has been in charge since December 2019, when he took over following the departure of Unai Emery.

Jonas Eidevall, head coach of Arsenal Women, has also agreed a new deal, committing to the Gunners until the 2023-24 season is over.

Here are some of the details, as well as a look at Arteta and Eidevall's records and the players who might be heading to the Emirates Stadium in 2022.

MORE: Premier League table: Updated 2022 EPL standings and Champions League, relegation & title races

Mikel Arteta contract: Salary and expiry date for Arsenal manager's new deal

Arteta's new contract, which was announced on May 6, will run until the end of the 2024/25 season. His previous deal had been due to expire in 2023.

Arteta is widely reported to have agreed an annual salary of around £5 million ($6.2 million) when Arsenal handed the former Spain international his first senior managerial role in December 2019.

That purportedly put the former Gunners midfielder in midtable among the current paydays collected by Premier League managers.

He is now said to be set to earn £25 million ($30.8 million) over the next three years, which will put him fifth behind Manchester City's Pep Guardiola, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte and Leicester City's Brendan Rodgers.

Guardiola, who counted Arteta as his assistant before the ex-playmaker was persuaded to take over by Arsenal, is thought to rake in a salary of around £19m ($23.4m).

Who is Jonas Eidevall?

Eidevall, who also extended his contract, has been Arsenal Women's head coach since June 2021.

A Women's Champions League quarterfinalist with Rosengard in 2019, Eidevall led the Swedish side to three domestic top-flight titles during two spells from 2013.

The 2018 Swedish Cup winner replaced Joe Montemurro in north London last year and almost guided the Women's Super League heavyweights to their first title since 2019.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Arsenal Official (@arsenal)

Arsenal eased past Tottenham 3-0 on a dramatic final day of the 2021-22 season but were beaten to top spot by a point by Chelsea, and Eidevall has clearly formed strong bonds in his first season at the club.

"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," the 39-year-old said of his new deal. "I'm really looking forward to that."

Arteta record as Arsenal manager

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the former captain with whom Arteta had a relationship that could best be described as mixed, scored Arsenal's equaliser at Bournemouth in the new manager's first game in charge after he succeeded Unai Emery at the end of 2019.

Arsenal were languishing in 11th in the Premier League at the time, and Arteta charitably claimed that his newly inherited squad, who were much-maligned at the time after a series of embarrassments under Emery, had performed better than he had expected against a team who would be relegated within 18 months.

MORE: Will Arsenal finish top four? Schedule, how long Gunners have been out of Champions League and more

Arteta could not inspire his side to make a notable impact on the Europa League and they stumbled to a final place of eighth in the league, although he won a considerable amount of goodwill — and patience — by unexpectedly winning the FA Cup at the end of his first season in charge.

Mikel Arteta Arsenal 2019-20

Champions League finalists under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal did not even qualify for Europe this season, having reached the Europa League semifinals in Arteta's second season.

The 2021/22 campaign has been something of a rollercoaster for Arsenal, and its success will be defined by whether Arteta can guide them back to the Champions League by securing fourth spot in their four remaining fixtures.

Twitchy fans questioned Arteta's future after a dismal start this term in which Arsenal did not score a goal on their way to losing their first three Premier League games, losing at newly promoted Brentford, at home to Chelsea and, most worryingly, 5-0 at City, where they were 3-0 behind and down to 10 men at half-time.

Their recovery since then has been impressive: four defeats in 23 league matches followed until a 2-0 loss at home to Liverpool on March 16th. That sobering defeat to the title contenders preceded a run of three losses in four games just when Arsenal seemed firmly on course to secure a lucrative return to Europe's elite.

That those defeats were against also-rans Crystal Palace, Brighton and Hove Albion, and Southampton revived suspicions that Arsenal still lacked the quality and resilience to sustain a challenge among the top four.

An unpromising set of fixtures loomed, yet Arsenal produced their best to win at Chelsea and West Ham and beat Manchester United with a surprising amount of comfort, even within the context of their familiar adversaries' dire season. Unfortunately, a resounding 3-0 defeat to rivals Tottenham in the North London Derby on May 12 was a big blow, seeing Spurs pull within a point of Arsenal's current fourth-place position.

Arteta's record, winning 71 of his 128 games in all competitions, reflects a team within sight of the most consistently successful sides in England while demonstrating that Arsenal are not in that class yet.

The tension and narrow margins involved in the race for qualification could partly explain why Arsenal have decided to act now, rewarding Arteta and, perhaps, looking to capitalise on what he calls a level of "chemistry" with the club's fans, which he feels is improving every week.

Arsenal have clearly winnable home games against relegation-threatened Leeds United and Everton — one of Arteta's former teams as a player — and a trip to Newcastle United before the end of the season, but their game at Tottenham on May 12th will feel like an all-or-nothing encounter.

"There is a lot to play for," Arteta acknowledged on Friday, speaking ahead of the visit of Leeds on Sunday. "Obviously [there's] the situation [Leeds] are in, but it's a defining moment in the season for us after everything we've done over the last nine or 10 months. We want to capitalise on what we've done."

Arsenal transfer targets: Who will Arteta sign in 2022?

Arsenal's status in Europe next season could decide whether they are able to consider breaking their club-record transfer fee to sign Bayer Leverkusen and France winger Moussa Diaby, who will reportedly cost £84 million ($103.7 million).

Leipzig attacker Christopher Nkunku is thought to be another target, and Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele has persistently been linked with the club. However, the France international, who has enjoyed a renaissance since the start of 2022, could decide to sign a new deal at Camp Nou rather than leave on a free transfer.

Christopher Nkunku - Marco Verratti - PSG - RB Leipzig

"We want to improve the team and the squad," Arteta said. "Obviously, we know there is not a player without a margin to improve and evolve.

"We want to retain our best players and add more quality and depth into that to be more competitive. We have to be really prepared with when we do that and why we want to do it. In principle, we always want to keep our best players and get better."

MORE: 'I want to stay at Arsenal my whole life' - Martinelli outlines ambitions to 'conquer' with Gunners

England wideman Bukayo Saka is one of the players Arteta is talking about. The 20-year-old would enhance any Premier League squad, and interest in him will intensify if Arsenal do not reach the Champions League.

Benfica striker Darwin Nunez is only two years older than Saka and has had a sensational season, scoring 34 goals in 40 appearances, including six in 10 as the Portuguese club became dark horses for the Champions League and held their own in their quarterfinal exit against Liverpool.

At 19, Scotland newcomer Aaron Hickey would fit the profile of the youthful, malleable players Arteta enjoys working with. The Bologna defender is said to have a price tag of around £17 million ($21 million).

Arteta praised Arsenal for being "so decisive" in offering him a contract that he knows will allow him to turn his attentions fully to acquisitions at the end of the season.

"They wanted to bring clarity, to recruit players and to keep them," he explained. "I was very clear I was ready to commit here. I’m very happy here and there is still a job to do."

Ben Miller

Ben Miller Photo

Ben Miller has been writing about sport for 25 years, following all levels of football as well as boxing, MMA, athletics and tennis. He’s seen five promotions, three relegations, one World Cup winner and home games in at least three different stadiums as a result of his lifelong devotion to Brighton & Hove Albion. His main aim each week is to cover at least one game or event that does not require a last-minute rewrite.