Mikel Arteta has committed his future to Arsenal by signing a new contract that runs until 2030, and the Spaniard has made it clear he has no intention of stepping away from management.
The deal makes Arteta one of the best-paid managers in world football and, if he sees it out, would take him beyond a decade in the Arsenal dugout. That would be a remarkable achievement for a manager in his first job.
Passion over rest
Arteta dismissed any suggestion that he might follow Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola in walking away from a long managerial stint due to burnout. Klopp left Liverpool and Guardiola has spoken of needing a break from football after years of intense pressure.
“To stop doing what I do? At the moment it's not in my head, because I love so much what I do, I wake up every morning and I have this energy,” Arteta said.
“A lot of people say, 'Mikel but you need to rest sometimes'. But the reality, and I'm honest, is sometimes I take a break during the day, I go back and I start to work on something and I get more energy because I love what I do.”
“'What about this, what about if we pass on that'? This is the beauty of working, of doing something that is your absolute passion and that's why I feel extremely lucky to be where I am.”
Privilege, not pressure
Arteta also rejected the idea that his job is stressful, describing it instead as a privilege to lead Arsenal.
“I think I'm still really young and this is just my first experience as well,” he said.
“That is probably the way I live my profession and this week we had a lot of discussions and people talked about pressure or stress. I understand [but] I don't relate my job to that and I've been through very different moments. It's more about the level of the passion and love that I have for the game and what I do with the ambition and drive and aspirations that I have.”
“And if you want to put a name into it, fine, but for me it's just a privilege to do that every single day.”
Longest-serving boss
Arteta is already the longest-serving manager in the top four divisions of English football. If he completes the full four years of his new contract, he will have led Arsenal for 11 years — half the length of Arsene Wenger's reign.
Arteta laughed off suggestions he could match that tenure, instead crediting the club's owners and hierarchy for persuading him to sign.
“I always say that when you are negotiating and when you are trying to figure out the future, the most important thing is at the end, when you are about to sign the deal, looking at everyone in the room and seeing some smiley faces and excitement in their eyes,” he said.
“And that's what I gather from Stan and Josh [Kroenke], especially, and then from Rich [Garlick], from James [King], from Andrea [Berta], of course, that was there, and then obviously the staff of the players.”
“That's it. I have to earn the right every single day to continue to be at this level, sitting in this chair, and making the most out of it.”
