BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN-ROSE
Bukayo Saka has reportedly agreed a new deal of five-year contract with Arsenal.
The 24-year-old will now be there until 2031, overriding his previous deal which was until 2027, according to The Athletic.
His new deal is said to be at a level which ‘recognises his standing as one of the leading players in the Premier League and Europe’.
Saka’s new wage has not been disclosed but his previous deal was thought to be worth around £200,000 per week.
He is the latest Gunners star to commit his future to the club after William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly also penned new deals in recent months.
Arsenal are yet to announce the news but a statement is expected in due course.
The contract is more good news for Saka, who confirmed his engagement to his long-term girlfriend Tolami Benson in November.
The Arsenal superstar asked the love of his life to marry him on a romantic date in a fancy London hotel.
Saka and Benson, a senior planning executive, are believed to have started dating back in 2020 and largely keep their relationship under wraps.
His extension sends a clear signal to any top European clubs who might like Saka: he is here to stay in north London and believes Arsenal can compete for top honours.
Had he reached the end of the season without renewing terms, he would have been just a year away from being able to leave the club for free.
Saka joined Arsenal’s Hale End academy aged seven, made his debut aged 17, and has gone on to make 294 first-team appearances across all competitions.
His availability has largely been impeccable although injuries have hampered him over the last couple of seasons.
He was out with a hamstring injury between December and March last season that issue has resurfaced this campaign, though with a less severe impact.
This season he has fired in seven goals and provided six assists to help Arsenal go top of the Premier League and the Champions League league phase.
In October, he became the seventh-youngest star in Premier League history to reach 100 Premier League goal contributions.
He is also joint-fifth for Premier League goal involvements in Arsenal’s history alongside Theo Walcott.
