Arsenal have confirmed that Bukayo Saka has signed a new long-term contract with the club. The deal is reported to be a four-year contract and one that brings his original weekly wage of £30,000-a-week up to a whopping £288,000.

There were initial concerns among the Arsenal fanbase that Saka would ask the club to place a release clause into his contract, something Arsenal famously do not do, however, thankfully for Arsenal fans, this is not the case.

Saka’s initial contract that he signed back in July 2020, does not run out until the summer of 2024, however, Arsenal were very conscious of allowing such a high-valued asset to enter into the final year of their contract, with interest from teams like Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea all reported.

This is perhaps the best news that Arsenal fans could have hoped for. Saka has been truly exceptional for the club ever since breaking into the team under Unai Emery and has only seemed to have improved under Mikel Arteta.

Last season was a truly spectacular showing from Saka, as he played every single Premier League game and recorded 12 goals and 7 assists in all competitions, making him the first player since Cesc Fàbregas to score 10 goals or more in a season while under the age of 23 for the club.

Not only has Saka’s development been an exceptional advert for the club’s Hale End academy, it has also been a testament to his own mentality. After the heartbreak of missing the decisive penalty in the EUROs final against Italy, there were fears that Saka would struggle to retain his old brilliance; but Saka has belayed those fears and then some.

The main issue that Arsenal have now is finding some restpite for the player. As stated above, Saka played every single Premier League match for the club, which means that Arsenal need to find some element of competition or cover for Saka in case of fatigue.

Saka’s new contract follows the announcement of a new deal for fellow countryman Aaron Ramsdale and the announcement earlier in the season of Gabriel Martinelli – while the club now shifts attention to tying defender William Saliba to a new long-term deal.