Mikel Arteta signed a new contract at Arsenal this week that makes him the highest-paid manager in English football, tying him to the club until 2030. The four-year deal is understood to be worth more than £20m a season, a hefty increase on the £10m salary plus £5m Champions League qualification bonus he agreed in 2024. Only Atlético Madrid’s Diego Simeone is thought to earn more globally. Announcing the deal on Wednesday, Arteta said this “is only the beginning”.
The length of the commitment is significant. It would take Arteta, who will mark his seventh anniversary in the job in December, past a decade at the helm, although he still has some way to go to match Arsène Wenger’s near-22-year reign. Wenger’s first day was 30 years ago last week, and it was Wenger who made Arteta Arsenal captain in 2014. Arteta was appointed as head coach after a spell as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City, replacing Unai Emery, and won the FA Cup six months later. He was upgraded from head coach to manager in September 2020.
Since then, various executives have departed as his influence has grown. The 44-year-old, who became the second-youngest manager after José Mourinho to win the Premier League, has a direct line to the co-chair Josh Kroenke and is able to exert a major say over most big decisions, on and off the pitch.
That extends to the club’s infrastructure. Arsenal announced this week that they had decided against a major expansion of the Emirates Stadium, a call that came after Arteta is believed to have expressed concern over the disruption any temporary move to Wembley or elsewhere would cause. The owner, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, is also thought to have been put off proposals to increase the capacity to 70,000 because of the cost, despite agreeing a record $4bn (£3bn) deal to buy Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels last month.
Arteta’s authority over recruitment has been just as pronounced. He is understood to have had the final say in the decision not to pursue interest in Malick Fofana after the Belgium forward was offered in the final days of the transfer window, because he wanted to ensure the 16-year-old phenomenon Max Dowman would not be denied opportunities. He may yet regret not bringing in another forward, after Christos Tzolis sustained a hamstring injury with Greece that is expected to keep him out for at least three weeks. Arteta has been calling the shots even since the arrival of Andrea Berta as sporting director in March 2025.
The on-pitch targets are now sizable. Arsenal were crowned Premier League champions in May, ending the club’s wait for the title, and the twin motivations are to make Arsenal back-to-back league winners for the first time since the 1930s and to become European champions after losing to Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s final on penalties.
Arteta’s attention to detail is a theme that runs through the club, down to the training-ground dog. Win, a chocolate labrador introduced by Arteta in May 2023, has become part of the family at the training centre in Hertfordshire. A therapy dog trained not to bark, she is a particular favourite of Kai Havertz, David Raya and Mikel Merino, who issues commands to her in Spanish and has spoken about spending time with Win during a three-month absence with a foot injury. According to sources close to Win, there is no contest when it comes to her preferred human: Arteta. The manager is understood to have taken Win home for Christmas last year, having been instrumental in her arrival a few days after his side finished as runners-up to Manchester City for the first time, and cuddly replicas are available in the club shop. The real version spends most days at the training centre, with her primary carer a full-time member of staff based there. “I carefully chose the dog and in my opinion it’s the perfect representative of who we are right now,” Arteta said in 2023. “Win needs accountability from us because we have to look after her as well; her emotions and what she needs.”
Such is the intensity Arteta brings to the job that it remains to be seen whether he can last as long as Wenger, although there are few signs that operating in such a high-pressure environment has affected him physically. The odd grey hair aside, he barely looks different from the day he was announced in his first managerial role.