Arteta extends contract as Arsenal coach

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta has signed a contract extension, the club confirmed on Thursday. Arteta has signed what Arsenal described as a "long-term" contract but it is thought to be until the end of June 2027. His previous contract was due to expire at the end of June 2025. The 42-year-old former player, who spent five years at the club between 2011 and 2016, returned to Arsenal in 2019 after leaving his previous post as assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Following a slow start, with two eighth-place finishes in the Premier League and fifth place in 2022, he has now cemented Arsenal as the main title challengers to City, with second-place finishes in the last two seasons and with last season's title race only decided on the last day of the campaign. "I feel extremely proud, very excited and am looking forward to what is coming next. I'm proud to be where I am and have the relationships that I have with everyone at the club," Arteta said on the club website. "I feel extremely lucky to work e very single day with good people and the ambition we have here. I feel very inspired, I feel challenged, I feel supported and I want to do much more than what we've already done together," he added, saying he was "looking forward to the coming years." Arsenal's next game is a north London derby away to Tottenham on Sunday. Enditem Source: The Namibia News Agency