Jamie Carragher urges Arsenal to hand Mikel Arteta a new deal as soon as possible
|Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has urged Arsenal to hand manager Mikel Arteta a new long-term deal as soon as possible.
The Spaniard became the boss of the North London club in 2019, signing a four-year deal at the time.
Arsenal handed Arteta a new contract which expires at the end of the 2024-25 season in May 2022, and he was recently linked with the soon-to-be-vacant Barcelona managerial role.
However, he angrily denied that an agreement to replace Xavi at the La Liga club at the end of the campaign is in place, but his future at Arsenal is yet to be sorted.
It is expected that Arteta will extend his contract with the Gunners, but nothing is guaranteed in football, and Carragher is hoping the North London club sort things out with their manager as soon as possible.
“Here is some free advice for Arsenal: get Mikel Arteta tied to a new contract at the earliest opportunity,” he wrote in the Telegraph.
“Strike while the iron is hot. Liverpool are entering a period of uncertainty when Jurgen Klopp leaves at the end of the season, and there are persistent rumours that Pep Guardiola will soon feel his work is done at Manchester City. Who knows how Guardiola will react if City are heavily punished after the Premier League hearing for alleged spending breaches.
“What a message it would send if Arteta was committed to the Emirates for another four years, vowing to reap the rewards of the foundations he has laid.
“If Arsenal lost Arteta in 2025 – when his current deal runs out – it would feel like they are squandering a massive opportunity which they have been building towards, albeit everyone naturally craves the title sooner rather than later.”
Real Madrid have also been linked with the Arsenal boss, and they simply cannot afford to lose him anytime soon.
Both parties could be likely waiting until the end of the current campaign before making a decision, but Arteta deserves to be in charge of the Gunners beyond 2025 no matter what happens this term.
The club have won one FA Cup and two FA Community Shields under him, and they have the potential to win the Premier League and Champions League with him in charge.
Their game against Liverpool on Sunday has been widely described as a title decider, but there are still 15 games remaining afterwards, and plenty can happen between now and May.