Saka signs new five-year contract, becomes Arsenal’s best-paid player

Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has signed a new five-year contract at the Premier League club that makes him the Gunners’ best-paid player.

Saka’s previous deal had been due to expire in June 2027, but he has now committed his future to the Arsenal until 2031.

The England international has become a key player for his boyhood club under Mikel Arteta, playing more minutes than any other Arsenal player since the manager’s appointment in 2019.

In total, he has made 296 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 77 goals, including seven in 33 games in all competitions this season.

However, he is on a 15-game goalless run, having last scored for Arsenal on December 3 in a 2-0 home win over Brentford.

Announcing the contract on X, the club wrote: “Ready to write a legacy ✍️”

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Saka, born in London to Yoruba Nigerian parents, has made crucial contributions to Arsenal’s title challenges in recent seasons, most notably in 2023/24, when he contributed 20 goals and 16 assists in all competitions as the Gunners finished two points behind Manchester City in the Premier League.

Saka will be targeting a first Premier League title this season, with the Gunners four points clear, while they are also on course for the quadruple, having reached the Carabao Cup final, the FA Cup fifth round, and the last 16 of the Champions League.

Arsenal have tied several players down to new contracts in recent months, with William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ethan Nwaneri, and Myles Lewis-Skelly also committing their futures to the club.

Saka, like Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly, is a product of Arsenal’s Hale End academy, having joined the club at the age of seven.

The Star