Arsenal's Bukayo Saka in action against Wigan Athletic's Jensen Weir last weekend
Bukayo Saka was in relaxed mood at Arsenal training on Tuesday. Photo: Getty
Bukayo Saka was in relaxed mood at Arsenal training on Tuesday. Photo: Getty
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka in action against Wigan Athletic's Jensen Weir last weekend
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka in action against Wigan Athletic's Jensen Weir last weekend
Bukayo Saka was in relaxed mood at Arsenal training on Tuesday. Photo: Getty
thumbnail: Bukayo Saka was in relaxed mood at Arsenal training on Tuesday. Photo: Getty
Michael Jones
thumbnail: Arsenal's Bukayo Saka in action against Wigan Athletic's Jensen Weir last weekend
thumbnail: Arsenal's Bukayo Saka in action against Wigan Athletic's Jensen Weir last weekend
Bukayo Saka has signed a new five-year contract with Arsenal keeping him at the club until 2031 as the 24-year-old commits his future to the Gunners.
Saka’s previous deal had been due to run out at the end of next season in June 2027 but the club decided to strike early with a new deal understanding that interest in Saka, from within England and across Europe, was high and that the winger preferred to remain at the Emirates Stadium.
Since breaking into the first team Saka has become an integral part of Arsenal’s starting XI and is competing to win an unprecedented quadruple this season with Mikel Arteta’s side top of the Premier League, through to the last-16 of the Champions League, into the fifth round of the FA Cup and preparing to face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.
According to BBC Sport, talks over a new deal for Saka have been ongoing for a while and the agreement will make him the best paid player at the club with wages alleged to be in excess of £300,000 (€340,000) per week.
Saka becomes the latest member of the current squad to sign an extension to his Arsenal contract with William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly all putting pen to paper on new long-term contracts last summer.
Saka has made 239 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 77 goals including seven from 33 matches this season though he is currently on a 15-game goalless run having last found the back of the net at the start of December 2025 in a 2-0 home win over Brentford.
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka in action against Wigan Athletic's Jensen Weir last weekend
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka in action against Wigan Athletic's Jensen Weir last weekend
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be hoping that run comes to an end tomorrow night when they travel to Wolves in a bid to stretch their lead to seven points at the top of the table.
Riccardo Calafiori is fit again despite becoming the latest player to fall foul of Arsenal’s warm-up woes. Italian full-back Calafiori was due to be in the starting line-up against Wigan in the FA Cup on Sunday, only to pull out shortly before kick-off.
It was the fourth time a Gunners player has picked up a problem in the warm-up this season.
William Saliba twisted his ankle prior to kick-off at Liverpool in September, Saka had to withdraw from the team at Leeds in January, and Calafiori also suffered an injury in the warm-up ahead of the Brighton match in December.
Boss Mikel Arteta admits he needs to get to the bottom of the sphere of pre-match niggles which could hinder their title bid.
“Yeah, big time,” he said. “They were very different. The first one was with Willy when he rolled his ankle against Liverpool. Then we had two incidents with Ricky in the warm-up in a really similar way. The other one was with Bukayo after he stayed in midweek and didn’t play against Kairat Almaty and then against Leeds he had that incident. Very unusual.
“It’s probably happened once or twice I think in six years I’ve been here, and [now] it’s happened four times. So obviously we are looking into it.
Captain Martin Odegaard and forward Kai Havertz are likely to miss out against Wolves but could be fit for Sunday’s north London derby at Tottenham. “For Wolves [Odegaard] is not going to be fit, but for Sunday we are very hopeful that he can be with us. “Kai is the other one, but again for the weekend he’s a possibility, so we are looking forward to having him in the squad.”
Wolves v Arsenal, Sky Sports Main Event, 8.0