Mikel Arteta offers blunt reaction to mega Erling Haaland contract | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta wasn't keen to dwell on Erling Haaland's new mega contract at Manchester City when asked about it in his latest press conference.

The Spaniard has been undone by the goals of Haaland over the past couple of seasons as Arsenal have fallen narrowly short in their bid to end a two-decade long wait for a fourth Premier League title.

City, who are still awaiting the verdict of an independent commission into the alleged 115 breaches of Premier League financial rules, confirmed on Friday that Haaland had signed a new nine-and-a-half-year contract running until 2034 - one that is speculated to make him one of the highest-paid athletes in all of professional sport.

Arteta, fresh from a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby, is preparing to welcome Aston Villa to Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening, but the first question of his press conference was about his rival's blockbuster announcement.

"Well, that’s the news. If they are willing to commit with a player for that long, it’s because they are really happy, so good news for them," Arteta replied.

Arteta saw Arsenal turn things around against Tottenham in midweek / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages

Answering later on over whether long-term contracts like Haaland's will become normal moving forward, the Gunners boss said: "I don't know. It looks like. obviously there's been a few examples of that. I don't know. I don't know if every club is going to take that route, the reasons for it. I think it will be very particular cases. Maybe we start with managers as well, doing ten-year contracts. With the physios and the journalists. I don't know."

Arteta then discussed Arsenal's ability to cope with pressure as they bid to hunt table-toppers Liverpool, confidently admitting that something is wrong if that pressure to perform doesn't come from within.

"I think if you want to be fighting for the top trophies with the top teams like we have been for the last eleven months, two and half years now, you have to enjoy those types of moments, those kind of circumstances, those challenges, the pressure that comes with it because I mean we playing to win and that's exactly where we want to be.

"I think the pressure comes form within. I think no one can put pressure on you. I think it's the wrong way round and if that’s the case it's probably you’re not doing, or preparing in the right way. You have to try to be the best as you possibly can and there's no more pressure on you, daily, when you have this commitment with yourself to achieve that."