Mikel Arteta confident Arsenal contract talks will happen ‘naturally’ despite no talks

Mikel Arteta is yet to hold talks with Arsenal about extending his current contract.

The Spaniard currently has around 18 months to run on his present deal, which expires in June 2023.

Arteta has endured some difficult times as Arsenal manager, though he has steadied the ship more recently.

After beating West Ham on Wednesday night, the Gunners are now up to fourth in the Premier League and they have impressed recently.

But asked if he had talks over a new deal, Arteta said: “No, we haven’t discussed anything like that. I think we have many other priorities at the moment that are far more important than that.

“I don’t know [if we will have talks in the summer], really I’m not thinking about that. I’m just trying to get the best out of the team, trying to cope with all the situations that we are facing at the moment. Things will happen naturally.”