Bukayo Saka is enjoying a fine season as Arsenal’s leading man; the England international has scored ten times already across all competitions. The club is keen to tie him down for the long term before contract-related uncertainty kicks in.
The Gunners have held initial talks with Saka’s camp over extending his contract, and offering the 20-year-old an improved deal, reports The Athletic’s David Ornstein. The youngster is enjoying a productive season; he scored the only goal when Mikela Arteta’s side beat Aston Villa the previous weekend, allowing them to consolidate their hold on the fourth and final Champions League slot in the table.
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Qualification to Europe’s top-tier cup competition could well have a bearing on Saka’s contract talks, says the report; Arsenal have failed to qualify for the Champions League since 2016 and were left out of continental competition, outright, for the current season.
According to Sky Sports, the club is also prepared to quadruple Saka’s wages – another key factor in the contract talks. The attacker currently is one of the lowest earners in the squad with a weekly wage of just 30,000 pounds per week, but any new deal will reflect Saka’s importance to the team on the bill as well.
Saka last signed an extension with Arsenal in 2020; the youngster put pen to paper on a deal until 2023 but with the option to extend it by 12 further months, thus allowing the club more control over their key asset’s future.
The attacker has been linked with moves away from the club in the media since his breakthrough season back in 2018/19. Therefore, prolonging his stay at the Emirates remains one of Arsenal and Arteta’s top priorities.
Since his debut in 2018, Saka has collected 121 appearances for Arsenal while scoring 21 goals. During this period, the 20-year-old also broke into the England national team set-up and was part of the squad – as well as a regular contributor – which finished runners-up in Euro 2020. He has won an FA Cup for his boyhood club and was named its player of the season for 2020/21.
