Sami Mokbel reports for the BBC that Mikel Arteta has agreed an improved new long-term contract with Arsenal , bringing to an end negotiations that have been ongoing for a number of months.

Mokbel claims Arteta and Arsenal have reached a final agreement on a new deal, which will include a sharp pay increase on his current salary of £10m per year plus bonuses.

The report doesn’t confirm the exact length of the new deal, but it is described as a ‘long-term’ contract.

Arteta’s current deal expires in 2027, so time was definitely running out to sort a new one. The manager recently confirmed that he expected the extension to get done at the right time.

“I think we are all very much aligned; whenever the time is right, we’ll get that done,” Arteta insisted . “There is nothing to be concerned about.

“I don’t know if the timing will be the same (as the last contract extension) or different, I think we both have the same ambition and the same will, so whenever we have time we’ll get that resolved.”

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

As mentioned, Arteta’s existing deal was worth £10m a season plus an extra £5m for Champions League qualification, which has been no trouble for Arteta’s Arsenal in recent seasons. But the expectation was always that he’d receive a significant increase on those terms.