According to Fabrizio Romano, Albert Stuivenberg has agreed to a contract extension at Arsenal that takes him through until 2027 when Mikel Arteta’s current deal ends.
In a further boost, The Athletic claims set piece coach Nicolas Jover will also agree an extension in the coming days ensuring a level of stability within the first team set-up for the next three seasons.
Stuivenberg was one of Arteta’s first hires when he became Arsenal head coach five years ago and is seen as Arteta’s most senior lieutenant.
Nicknamed “Airpod Albert” by fans, the 54-year-old is a reserved figure with a wealth of coaching experience. He began with the Netherlands’ under-17 and Under-21 teams before joining Louis van Gaal’s staff at Manchester United. There, he connected with Ryan Giggs, who later brought him on board as an assistant for the Wales national team – a role he initially juggled alongside his duties at the Emirates.
A manager in his own right for Belgian side Genk, Stuivenberg has been linked with high-profile jobs, including the hot seats at Ajax and Feyenoord, but has resisted the temptation to return home.
Jover joined Arsenal in the summer of 2021 from Manchester City having been recruited by Arteta to the Etihad two years before.
The German-born French coach is credited with turning Arsenal into one of Europe’s most deadly set-piece sides. Earlier this week, Arteta described the 43-year-old as a “very special person” and “someone that is very, very important for the team.”
While Arsenal’s backroom staff incorporates a vast array of specialists including analysts, psychologists, strength and conditioning coaches, medics, data scientists and physios, it’s those in and around the first team who are the most talked about.
It’ll be interesting to see if keeper coach Inaki Cana Pavon, highly-rated tactical assistant Miguel Molina and assistant Carlos Cuesta are also handed new deals. We presume they will be although the latter is tipped to become a manager in the future and was linked with the Norwich job in the summer.
Steve Round, another of Arteta’s original hires, departed the club in the summer of 2023 and wasn’t replaced. He broke his silence on the matter this week explaining the decision to part ways was mutual and had nothing to do with a rumoured argument about the Gunners signing David Raya to replace Aaron Ramsdale.
Chatting to Footy Accumulators’ No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, he revealed: “I read a piece about that and that’s completely untrue, it’s a load of rubbish.
“There were no arguments or differences of opinion or anything like that. When I first went in with Mikel, I said to him, when the time is right, I think I’ll need to move on when it suits us both.
“We had a discussion in that summer [2023] and we said, I think it’s time that I went and we were both in agreement with each other.
“I think I needed to step away from it and have a break. I’ve been on the front line for nearly 30 years and it was tough.
“And I think he needed to refresh his staff as well and promote a couple of younger coaches. I’d moved more into the technical director sphere, which is what I’m looking at right now. So I just felt it was the right time.”