Mikel Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has outlined his long-term vision for the club, stating his ambition to turn Arsenal into the finest club in world football as talks over a new contract move closer to completion.
Arteta has long maintained a relaxed stance on his future, suggesting in recent weeks that finalising fresh terms was simply a matter of time rather than a point of contention. With the summer transfer window now closed and players heading into a three-week international break, indications suggest the two parties are nearing a complete agreement on an extended deal.
Despite the encouraging progress, Arteta stopped short of revealing specifics about the length of any prospective contract. Instead, he chose to focus on the bigger picture, underlining that turning Arsenal into the world's premier football institution remains the club's defining objective.
"Day by day," Arteta said, when discussing his approach to the role. "Obviously we have to have a mid, long-term version. That is to build to the best club in the world. That has to be without any question of doubt what we have to do."
The Spaniard elaborated on the layers of work required to reach such heights, pointing to the necessity of collective ambition running through every level of the organisation.
"In order to achieve that, there's a lot of things you have to do daily to give you the probability to achieve that," he explained. "Then you have to rely so much on people. First of all our owners and the fantastic motivation and ambition that they have to take this club to that point."
Arteta also stressed the importance of unity between staff, players, and supporters in creating the conditions necessary for sustained success. "Then the level of connection you build within the staff, within the players and especially our supporters to build the right environment, the right ecosystem around it. Everybody aligned with the same ambition," he added.
The 42-year-old took charge of Arsenal in December 2019 in what was his first senior managerial appointment. Since then, he has guided the club through a significant rebuilding process, transforming a team that had fallen outside the Champions League places into Premier League champions, ending a 22-year wait for the title.
Reflecting on his early days in the job, Arteta admitted that the scale of the challenge initially felt overwhelming, particularly given his lack of prior managerial experience.
"When I just joined, the only thing I was thinking was: 'What do I do today?'" he recalled. "That was big enough, especially when I didn't have any experience to manage any team at any level."
He went on to describe how his perspective has evolved over time, taking each day as it comes while reflecting positively on his journey so far. "Then you take the job day by day and obviously it's been a few years now that I'm really happy and grateful for," Arteta said, before adding with a note of anticipation, "Let's see what happens for the future."
With contract negotiations reportedly in their final stages, attention will now turn to how soon an official announcement might arrive. For now, Arteta's message is one of patience and long-term thinking, as he continues to steer Arsenal's project with the stated goal of establishing the club among the very best in the sport.
Based on reporting from Standard Football.