There’s just one place to start out this morning and that’s the affirmation that Bukayo Saka has signed a brand new contract with the membership.
It runs for 4 years, tying him to Arsenal till 2027, and it’s value a reported £15m a 12 months. We are able to go into the small print of that a bit bit, however at the start we must always give attention to what is solely good news. Saka, at 21 years of age, has simply produced a season through which he scored 14 targets and made 11 assists. He’s the jewel of our Academy crown, and it was so essential to safe his future.
Mikel Arteta says:
Retaining our greatest younger abilities is vital to our continued progress and Bukayo represents such an essential a part of our squad now and for the long run.
In addition to being a implausible expertise, Bukayo is a particular individual, he’s cherished by us all and he’s a credit score to himself and his household for the arduous work and dedication they’ve all made to get to this stage right this moment.
Whereas Saka himself defined his causes, past the actual fact he’s an Arsenal lad who has grown up at this membership – that solely goes to date:
For me, it’s about attaining my private ambitions; how a lot I push myself and demand from myself every recreation, week in, week out. Then I’ve all the proper folks round me when it comes to household, and once I come to the coaching floor, my teammates, the teaching employees.
I believe I’ve all the pieces I have to grow to be the most effective participant I could be, and that’s why I’m blissful to remain right here and be right here for the long run, as a result of I actually imagine that we are able to obtain huge issues.
Make no mistake, there isn’t a membership on the planet who wouldn’t have been concerned about signing him, even when realistically there are only a few who might have attracted him within the first place. What he says about Arsenal being the proper place for him is, in some methods, a consequence of the progress we’ve made. I believe this is able to have been a way more tough renewal if we have been scrapping for the Europa League fairly than the title for a lot of the marketing campaign.
Finally, there are shades of disappointment at how the season has ended, however one of many constructive features is the actual fact this appears like a staff that’s nonetheless able to extra, of higher. Once you’re making an attempt to re-sign a participant like Bukayo Saka, that’s extremely useful. We’ve already seen the way it made renewals for Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Aaron Ramsdale a lot simpler, and hopefully that sense of positivity will allow us to make progress with the opposite gamers we wish to tie down. It’s simply simpler to persuade gamers to commit their future once you’re good.
As for the size of the deal – 4 years with out an choice to increase for a 12 months like many contracts have today – I don’t fear an excessive amount of about that. Saka has a really good agent, and he is aware of that after two years of this present contract, the method begins once more. Saka will solely be 23 years of age at that time, with a lot of his greatest years forward of him. As I mentioned above, the problem of retaining him is tied on to how aggressive Arsenal are as a membership, and if we’re in place, difficult for titles and hopefully successful trophies alongside the way in which, that’s our security web.
As for his wages, a deal value a possible £15m a 12 months is available in simply shy of £290,000 every week if – and this can be a huge if – your complete factor is paid in primary wage. Which in fact it received’t be. It is going to be structured with bonuses, picture rights, and extra; incentives that are half and parcel of each participant’s contract. I’ll say this, if Bukayo Saka takes residence £290,000 each week, we’ll all be very blissful due to what he and the staff are producing.
The opposite factor to keep in mind is that not solely is Saka one among Arsenal’s greatest gamers, he’s one among England’s greatest gamers too, so there’s a component of benchmarking his wage in opposition to what a few of his nationwide staff colleagues are incomes. That doesn’t imply we’ve got to match the depths of Man Metropolis’s limitless pockets, or the stupidity of Man Utd or Chelsea’s wage invoice with regards to sure gamers, however he had each proper, after what he has produced and the consistency with which he’s achieved it, to search for one thing in the identical ballpark.
I don’t actually perceive individuals who make parallels between this and the offers for Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Saka is 21 together with his whole profession forward of him, these guys have been of their late 20s/early 30s, and heading into the winter of their very own taking part in careers. There are vital variations in motivation once you’re youthful, so I don’t have any worries that this can influence his efficiency ranges.
What I might say is that whereas I’ve talked about his consistency and availability, as outlined by the actual fact he’s set to play in each recreation for the second successive season, I do suppose we have to discover a solution to handle his minutes higher throughout subsequent season’s dual-challenges of Premier and Champions League.
Ought to he characteristic in opposition to Wolves, Bukayo Saka will grow to be the primary participant to not miss a single recreation in back-to-back league campaigns for #Arsenal since David Seaman (1990-91 & 1991-92) and the primary outfield participant to take action for the membership since Lee Dixon (1989-90 & 1990-91).
— Harvey Downes (@HarveyDownes92) Could 23, 2023
He has the second most outfield minutes for us this season (behind Gabriel), and this era on the finish of the marketing campaign the place has gone 5 video games and not using a objective contribution is the longest since a 3 recreation run again on the very begin of August. It does counsel that he, like some others and the staff as a complete, ran out of steam a bit bit, however that brings us to the necessity for depth we’ve spoken about as key for the summer time forward. A real various to assist reduce the burden on him subsequent outing looks as if an essential a part of our recruitment technique. We all know Arteta desires one other winger, so let’s hope we get that achieved.
Anyway, it’s nice information. He’s a implausible participant, and by all accounts a superb individual too. I can’t advocate this long-read on the official web site extremely sufficient – providing you with nice perception into his progress at Arsenal from the time he arrived to now. Properly value your time.
Proper, let’s depart it there for this morning. Extra right here tomorrow.
