Exclusive: Talks scheduled for key Arsenal figure at the end of the season, says expert

Transfer news expert Ben Jacobs has made it clear that there are pre-planned talks set to take place between Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta over a new contract at the end of the season.

The Spanish tactician has done great work during his time in charge at the Emirates Stadium, with the team surprising a few fans and pundits alike when they became genuine title contenders last season in a close Premier League title race with eventual winners Manchester City.

The Gunners are again looking like serious contenders this year, and so fans of the north London giants will be glad to hear that Arteta is set to hold talks over a new deal in the coming months.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside on The Debrief Podcast, Jacobs mentioned these pre-planned talks, whilst also saying that there was no panic behind the scenes at Arsenal about links between Arteta and Barcelona.

The 41-year-old played for Barca as a youngster and seems like he’d be a good fit for them in terms of his managerial philosophy, but one also imagines he’ll be committed to a long-term project that currently seems to be going very well at Arsenal.

Barca, by contrast, have been a little unstable in recent times and it might not be the best choice to go there now, with even club legend Xavi struggling and announcing he’ll be leaving the job less than a year after winning the La Liga title.

Arteta staying at Arsenal would be great news for the Gunners

Of course, we’ll have to see if these contract talks go to plan, but if Arteta does end up staying at Arsenal, it would be a huge boost for them.

At a time when Jurgen Klopp is about to leave Liverpool, and Pep Guardiola may presumably think about calling it a day at Manchester City soon after an uncharacteristically long stay at the club, tying down Arteta could be key to keeping Arsenal competitive for many years to come.