Mikel Arteta contract: Arsenal manager says there is no time to discuss extending deal amid Premier League title race

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says there is no time right now to discuss extending his contract.

Arsenal have reportedly held initial discussions with Arteta over his current deal, which expires at the end of next season, and they have been described as heading in a positive direction.

Speaking on Friday, Arteta played down the talks: "There is no news on that," he said. "We don't have time to discuss that now. The full focus is on what we have to do from here until the end of the season."

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Arteta has only won one trophy, the FA Cup in 2020, during his six and a half years at the club having finished second in the Premier League on three occasions.

Arsenal hold a nine-point lead over Manchester City with seven games remaining and are also on course to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

Arteta believes there is still so much more for him and the club to achieve.

He added: "I'm fully committed here. I'm really happy and I feel good. My family's good. I still have so much ambition and things to do at this club. For now, we are in a good place.

"This job is about the present and what you do on the day. Give your very best and feel that you are the person that can lead and inspire the group to achieve great things for the club.

"And I feel that way and hopefully I will feel that way for the rest of the week, and with a great outcome at the end of the season."

Analysis: Best yet to come under Arteta?

Sky Sports' Nick Wright:

Some Arsenal fans will feel major silverware is needed in order for Arteta to be rewarded with a new contract but there is no doubting how far he has already taken the club.

Three consecutive second-place finishes have become a source of ridicule for some. Arteta and his players need to show, finally, that they can get over the line. But they also represent a level of consistency across recent seasons few sides can match.

Arteta has arrested the drift of the post-Arsene Wenger era and overseen an exhaustive transformation. The progress has been apparent in Europe too. Arsenal are on the brink of consecutive Champions League semi-finals for the first time, their presence among the continent's elite firmly re-established.

While rivals Manchester City and Liverpool have benefitted immensely from the contributions of star performers such as Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah in recent years, Arsenal's strength lies in the collective, and in the qualities instilled by their manager.

Arteta still has something to prove to his critics. The 2020 FA Cup remains his only trophy so far, save for a couple of Community Shields. But he has already put the club on an altogether different plane, with growing hope that the best days are yet to come.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Mikel Arteta contract: Arsenal manager says there is no time to discuss extending deal amid Premier League title race