Arsenal: Mikel Arteta hopes Bukayo Saka will follow William Saliba in agreeing new deal | OneFootball

The Gunners have tied several key players down to long-term deals in recent months

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Mikel Arteta would “love” Bukayo Saka to follow William Saliba and sign a new contract with Arsenal.

Saliba has agreed terms on a new five-year deal with Arsenal and is set to put pen to paper in the coming days.

The Frenchman will be the latest player to commit to the club in recent months, with Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel and Myles Lewis-Skelly also doing so.

“I would love that,” he said. “From everything that I know he’s a player that is extremely happy and proud to be here and to have the role that he has at the football club.

“Things will develop in the natural way like they always do and we know, everybody knows how important Bukayo is for us, so hopefully we can do it.”

Arsenal bolstered their squad in the summer by signing eight new players, but agreeing new contracts with current stars was a key aim, too.

Sporting director Andrea Berta has led those talks and Arteta has been delighted at the commitment shown by his players.

“Extremely happy, every time I sit with a player and we discuss with the club what their intentions are, the first thing is that they want to continue with us, they want to win with us, they want to continue to grow with us in this environment,” said Arteta.

“That’s a great thing to have because it’s not always the case, we don’t take it for granted, but that means that obviously the club is doing really well as well to make their people and the staff feel very valuable and happy here.”