Mikel Arteta has played down reports that talks with the club over a new deal have begun, but stressed he remains fully committed to Arsenal.
The Spaniard is 19 months into the three-year contract he signed in September 2024, and [BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn78kdymmvpo) report that offering him an extension is high on the club’s list of priorities once the season is done.
Arteta has been in charge since December 2019, overseeing a rebuild of the first-team squad that has turned Arsenal into one of Europe’s most competitive sides. There is only one major trophy so far, the 2020 FA Cup, but with the club still in the hunt for both the Premier League and Champions League, there is a chance to add to that before May is out.
“No, there’s no news on that,” [said Arteta when asked about contract talks.](https://www.arsenal.com/news/every-word-artetas-pre-bournemouth-presser-0)
“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.”
While managerial churn is nothing new, there could be plenty of movement among Arsenal’s rivals. Arne Slot and Pep Guardiola have both been linked with departures from Liverpool and Manchester City, while Chelsea may yet have a decision to make over Liam Rosenior. Manchester United, meanwhile, continue to weigh up whether to hand Michael Carrick the job on a permanent basis.
Against that backdrop, stability could work in Arsenal’s favour, although much will depend on how the next seven weeks play out. Win something big and the mood shifts quickly. Fall short, and the conversation changes just as fast.
_BBC Sport_ also reported that Arsenal are weighing up whether to cash in on academy duo Ethan Nwaneri, currently on loan at Marseille, and Myles Lewis-Skelly, whose progress has stalled this season.
Any sale would represent pure profit on the balance sheet, and after last summer’s spending, there is an expectation that player trading will come into “sharper focus”.
Arteta was not asked directly about those reports, but he did address the balance between developing academy players and competing at the top level.
“It’s part of us, and I think at the end what has to define this football club is to seek the excellent, the best, regardless if you’re coming from the Academy or abroad.
“If we can have players from Hale End, it’s obviously much better because the identity is there, we grow with them, and they know exactly what we’re looking for.
“But then, they have to earn it and not just for a week or a month, for years like anybody else. It doesn’t matter in what department, or what role 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.”
Asked whether that means a sink-or-swim environment for young players stepping into the first team, Arteta pointed to the opportunities already given to teenagers during his time in charge.
“The margins are shorter, but we’re doing something as well, that is unprecedented. We have players that play in competitions that 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, which is 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 there because they deserve to be there.”