Saka extends Arsenal contract to 2031
Bukayo Saka is understood to have signed a new five-year contract at Arsenal that makes him the Gunners’ best-paid player. Saka’s previous deal had been due to expire in June
Bukayo Saka is understood to have signed a new five-year contract at Arsenal that makes him the Gunners' best-paid player.
Saka's previous deal had been due to expire in June 2027 but he has now committed his future to the Gunners until 2031.
The England international has become a key player for his boyhood club under Mikel Arteta, playing more minutes than any other Arsenal player since the manager's appointment in 2019.
In total, he has made 296 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 77 goals, including seven in 33 games in all competitions this season.
However, he is on a 15-game goalless run, having last scored for Arsenal on December 3 in a 2-0 home win over Brentford.
Saka has made crucial contributions to Arsenal's title challenges in recent seasons, most notably in 2023/24, when he contributed 20 goals and 16 assists in all competitions as the Gunners finished two points behind Manchester City in the Premier League.
Saka will be targeting a first Premier League title this season, with the Gunners four points clear, while they are also on course for the quadruple, having reached the Carabao Cup final, the FA Cup fifth round and the last 16 of the Champions League.
Arsenal have tied several players down to new contracts in recent months, with William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly also committing their futures to the club.
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Saka, like Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly, is a product of Arsenal's Hale End academy, having joined the club at the age of seven.
Arsenal spent close to £300m on new signings during the summer transfer window but securing Bukayo Saka's future might be their most significant piece of business this season.
The 24-year-old academy product has become a talismanic figure for the club. He captains the side in the absence of Martin Odegaard and continues to be crucial to their attack, with Arsenal consistently looking to him to unlock games from their right flank.
No player can claim to have been more influential under Arteta. In addition to making more Premier League appearances than any of his team-mates under the Spaniard, he ranks top for goals, assists, shots and chances created, underlining his all-round threat.
There is no doubting his status among the Premier League's elite. Since the start of the 2021/22 campaign, only Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland and Ollie Watkins have contributed more goal involvements.
His groin injury was a significant factor in Arsenal's drop-off last season but he has reached the halfway point of the new campaign having returned to top form.
The squad is deeper for the summer recruitment but Saka remains vital, his future at the club assured.
