Arteta 'very confident' over Saka's new Arsenal contract

Mikel Arteta says he is "very confident" that Bukayo Saka will sign a new contract with Arsenal - and hopes the winger will put pen to paper quickly. Talks have been ongoing with Saka over an extension for months, with the England international into the final two years of his current deal.

And Arteta has now given the clearest hint yet that he believes the 20-year-old will soon put any speculation over his future at the club to rest.

What has Arteta said on Saka's contract?

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s Premier League fixture at Bournemouth, Arteta was asked how confident he was that Saka would sign a new contract.

“I am very confident that we as a club and Bukayo, his family, his agent, everybody, we are very much aligned in what we want to achieve,” said the Arsenal boss.

“And now it is about putting it on a piece of paper.

“I would like that to get done, because I don’t want the player or anybody distracted while we are in the middle of the season. 

“But those things take time and they have to go through the right process, and I think the process has been really good.”

What else did Arteta say?

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The Gunners boss also confirmed during his pre-match press conference that Brazilian winger Marquinhos would be remaining at Arsenal, for the first half of the season at least.

The 19-year-old arrived in the summer from Sao Paolo and Arteta and his coaching staff have been taking a close look at him during the past couple of months and training and while he has been playing for the Under-21s.

And the Spaniard has praised the way the attacker has settled and revealed he would be staying put, rather than going out on loan.

“Very happy with him,” Arteta said. “He’s adapted really well. 

“He’s a really likeable figure in the dressing room and around Colney, even if his language is not great yet. 

“His physicality has been pretty exceptional for someone who has come in from Brazil, a different way to train and the way he’s done it. I think he’s got very good qualities for the way we want to play.

“We are going to keep him here for another few months and make sure he establishes himself at the club and in the team and after that we will see what is the best movement in terms of his development.”