Mikel Arteta answered questions about two talking points relating to a Sami Mokbel press release.
‘I’m fully committed here’
The Spaniard signed a new contract with Arsenal in September 2024 that is set to last until 2027. He has since failed with six attempts to win major honours, losing the Champions League semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain and the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City in March.
An update from Mokbel mentioned that the board and Arteta have been putting conversations about another contract extension on hold until the end of May, and the manager did not add fuel to the fire.
“No, there's no news on [the contract]. I think we'll have time to discuss that now. The full focus is on what we have to do from here until the end of the season.
“I'm fully committed here. I'm really happy and I feel good. My family is good. I still have so much ambition and things to do in this football club. And for now, we are in a good place.
“I'm going to take what I said to the fans, bring your lunch, bring your dinner. It's about tomorrow, and so for me, this is this job. It's about the presence, what you do on the day.
“Give your very best and feel that you are the person as well who can lead and inspire the group to achieve great things for the club. And at the moment, I feel that way, and hopefully, we're going to feel that way for the rest of the week with a great outcome at the end of the season.”
‘The margins are shorter’
Mokbel’s updates also indicated that five players might be on their way out this summer: Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Ben White, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri. The two academy graduates grabbed their opportunity last campaign, but they have struggled for sustained playing time in the Premier League this season, and Nwaneri is now out on loan in Ligue 1 with Marseille.
Max Dowman is an exception to the rule. The teenager became the youngest scorer in the history of the Premier League when the Gunners grabbed a 2-0 victory over Everton in March to move nine points clear at the top of the table. Still only 16 years of age, Dowman demonstrates that some talent is undeniable. But in the circumstances, Arteta addressed his position on using younger players.
“The margins [for young players to prove themselves] are shorter because we’re doing something that is unprecedented. We have players that play in competitions nobody else has done at that age, so I think the balance is there.
“We are doing everything we can to accommodate that, especially because they deserve the opportunity as it’s the best thing. Nobody’s here to give a gift, an opportunity, to someone that doesn’t deserve it. Everybody that has been in and around the first team is because they deserve to be there.
“I think at the end what has to define this football club is to seek for excellence, seek for the best, regardless, if you’re coming from abroad. If we can have players from Hale End it’s obviously much better because the identity is there, we grow with them and we know exactly what they’re looking for.
“But at the end, they have to earn it and not just for a week or a month, for years like anybody else. It doesn’t matter what department or what you have in the club, you have to sustain performance and that has to be at the very highest level if we want to win and sustainably be where we want to be.”