Bukayo Saka has agreed a new five-year contract at Arsenal that will make him one of the highest-paid players in the club’s history.
The England forward’s deal that he signed in May 2023 is thought to be worth about £200,000 a week and is due to expire in 2027. Saka said before the Champions League quarter-final victory against Real Madrid in April that he wanted to “win wearing this badge” but also said he was in “no rush” to sign a new contract.
Arsenal’s sporting director, Andrea Berta, made it a priority to secure the future of the Hale End academy graduate after tying down Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly to long-term contracts last year. Saka’s representatives have agreed a deal that will run until 2031, when Saka will be approaching his 30th birthday, with confirmation expected soon from Arsenal.
It is understood the deal is likely to take his earnings beyond £15m a season – the equivalent of about £300,000 a week – and into an elite bracket of players in Europe that Arsenal believe represents the 24-year-old’s importance. At present, Kai Havertz is thought to be their best-paid player, having signed a contract worth £280,000 a week when he joined from Chelsea in 2023. Mesut Özil earned a reported £350,000 a week at Arsenal after he signed a contract extension in 2018.
Saka has been outstanding in recent weeks as Arsenal have established a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League and is benefiting from the signing of Noni Madueke from Chelsea as back-up on the right. Saka’s minutes have been carefully managed since he sustained a minor hamstring injury in August and Saka has started on the bench against Club Brugge, Brentford and Bournemouth since the start of December.
In September, manager Mikel Arteta said he was hopeful that Saka would commit his future to the club the player joined as a seven-year-old. “I would love that,” he said. “From everything that I know, again he’s a player that is extremely happy and proud to be [here] and to have the role that he has in the football club. He’s been developing in a natural way like they always do. Everyone knows how important Bukayo is for us so hopefully we can do it.”
Arsenal are also believed to be keen to reward Declan Rice with an improved deal in recognition of his increasing influence. The England midfielder signed a five-year contract with an option to extend by 12 months when he joined from West Ham in 2023 for £105m.
Any Arsenal move for Marc Guéhi is understood to be more likely in the summer when his contract at Crystal Palace is due to expire. Manchester City have expressed an interest in signing the defender this month but the FA Cup winners want about £40m. Arsenal have joined Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid among Guéhi’s suitors hoping to snap him up on a free.
Piero Hincapié will have a scan on a suspected hamstring injury after being taken off against Liverpool.
