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Mikel Arteta is set to be offered a bumper pay rise by Arsenal with the club confident at extending the Spaniard’s stay, talkSPORT understands.

The 42-year-old is tied down at the Emirates until 2025, but looks poised to pen fresh terms in north London in his quest to guide the Gunners to a first Premier League title since 2004.

Arsenal are keen to enter formal contract talks with their ex-skipper following a fine campaign where they battled for the Premier League title.

After back-to-back second-placed finishes in the top-flight, there is a feeling it could be third time lucky for Arsenal.

All signs point towards a busy summer at the Emirates, with Arteta’s future believed to be one of the top priorities for club chiefs.

And it is understood that should Arteta sign on the dotted line, he would become Arsenal’s highest-paid manager in their history.

A player Unai Emery signed for Arsenal back in 2019 is now actually thought to be worth more than Declan Rice in today’s market.

Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal are finally starting to get a better grasp of the transfer market, at least when it comes to players arriving.

During Emery’s time in charge, it’s fair to say that there were a couple of high-profile flops.

Nicolas Pepe is the first player to spring to mind, who wasn’t actually said to be a signing inspired by Emery in his defence.

But signing the likes of David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulous and Matteo Guendouzi – just to name a few, didn’t seem to present one clear vision.

But having recruited the likes of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and David Raya last summer, it was clear what Arteta was trying to achieve, and they all improved Arsenal’s starting XI.

That being said, you would hope so given the fee Arsenal paid to bring those players in, particularly the £105m paid for Rice.

No one is debating the worth of that deal now, one of the best signings in the club’s recent history.

William Saliba now worth triple what Arsenal paid for him, more than Declan Rice

That being said, one of Emery’s signings who is still around today, William Saliba, who cost £27m at the time, is now said to be worth more than Rice by one calculation.

Football Observatory have just shared their latest list of world football’s 100 most valuable players, containing a number of Arsenal names.

According to this calculation, Rice is thought to be worth €103.3, or roughly £88m – a number a fair few fans and pundits would think is too modest.

And judged by the same standards, five Arsenal players are thought to be worth more.

In ascending order, William Saliba (£90m), Kai Havertz (£99m), Gabriel Martinelli (£108m), Martin Odegaard (£135m) and Bukayo Saka, at a whopping £166m, are all thought to be worth more.

Of course, these sorts of lists are incredibly subjective, but perhaps these values do prove how healthy this Arsenal squad is right now.

And when looking to players who could one day be worth a similar sum at the Emirates, Arteta has an opportunity to sign an extraordinary English youngster this summer.

Mikel Arteta and Edu have undoubtedly already been targeting numerous transfers with the latest name linked perfectly fitting the Arsenal model. Ahead of the Gunners’ 2023/24 season-closer, Arteta spoke on the club’s transfer plans and revealed his willingness to get deals done early.

“That’s the ideal scenario,” he said when asked if Arsenal were hopeful of getting their business done at the start of the window. “Every club wants that, we want that as coaches and for the players especially. Then for the team and for the environment. When you do that something clicks there and it’s really important because it starts to give you momentum.”

In the wake of the campaign ending, Arsenal have been linked with Feyenoord goalkeeper Justin Bijlow with it looking increasingly more likely Aaron Ramsdale will leave this summer. On the topic of departures, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Emile Smith Rowe and Thomas Partey are others that could move on ahead of the 2024/25 season.

Selling numerous first-team players could allow for more marquee transfers to be made, but with that, replacements will be needed. One option that could arrive in place of Zinchenko would be Fenerbahce’s Ferdi Kadioglu with the defender capable of playing on both flanks.

Considering what Arteta craves from his full-backs, it would be an astute addition but there is perhaps a better target that has recently been linked in Leeds United’s Archie Gray. “Arsenal have been one of a number of clubs linked with Archie Gray at Leeds United,” transfer guru Fabrizio Romano revealed via Caught Offside.

“There’s interest in Gray from Germany and England, for sure. Leeds were hoping to keep both Gray and Crysencio Summerville but it might be difficult now after they missed out on promotion to the Premier League, so yes – I expect movement on these two players and we will see how Leeds will react.”

With the Whites failing to achieve promotion from the Championship, they may be forced into selling a number of star players with Gray as one that could be sacrificed. The 18-year-old endured a superb season at Elland Road with his versatility to play at both right-back and in midfield, something Arteta will certainly have taken note of.

Last summer, the Gunners signed Jurrien Timber for £34million with the plan he would be deployed in Zinchenko’s inverted role. As such, the former Manchester City man being handed less minutes looked likely but the Netherlands international’s long-term injury changed plans.

Despite that, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior were often preferred to the Ukraine international and because of that, he will likely be the one sold if Arsenal move for Gray. As he is still only a teenager, a back-up role will likely be accepted with a clear plan to continue his development under Arteta.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta finally got the chance to meet Kylian Mbappe before the 24-year-old makes a big transfer announcement. Last weekend, Mbappe played his final game for Paris Saint-Germain as they beat Lyon 2-1 to win the French Cup with the attacker playing the full 90 minutes.

Last summer, Mbappe was at the centre of countless transfer stories after confirming he would not be extending his stay in Paris beyond 2024. After initially being excluded from first-team activities, Mbappe returned and expectedly played a huge role in PSG winning their third consecutive Ligue 1 title.

Considering his exit stance did not change throughout the season, Mbappe has been at the forefront of numerous transfer rumours over the last few months despite the expectation he would sign for Real Madrid. With that in mind, Arteta was asked about the possibility of signing the France international and his answer was certainly telling.

“Why not?” he said when asked if Arsenal should be in the conversation to sign Mbappe. “If we want to be the best team, we are going to need the best talent and the best players, that is for sure.” Financially though, it was always a deal that looked impossible to pull off with Madrid one of few teams capable of affording his personal terms.

Official confirmation of the move is yet to arrive though, and thus some slim hope remains a sensational transfer U-turn could occur but that looks likely to be put to rest soon. “I think that the best thing to do is to finish these goodbyes,” Mbappe admitted after the win against Lyon when asked why he had not revealed his next club.

“I think all I wanted was to finish well with my club. There’s a trophy. I think there’s a time for everything. I’ll announce my new club in due course. I think we’re just a few days away, so there’s no problem.” With that likely to come following Madrid’s Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund, Arteta has seemingly spoken to Mbappe.

Arsenal go into the summer transfer market with a level of financial restriction caused by the ever-present Profit and Sustainability Regulations. The club have managed to compete whilst complying with these rules but had to delay the permanent signing of David Raya last summer as a result.

Fast forward to 2024 and there is scope for the Gunners to loosen the grip of these mitigations by utilising the sales market. For the first time in many years, Arsenal have a whole host of sellable assets which could bring in some considerable funds for the club.

With that in mind, football.london assesses how much the minimum expectation on price should be for each of the 10 players who could be sold from the senior side this summer. This does not take into account potential youth exits such as Charlie Patino and Mika Biereth who could also be on the way out.

Aaron Ramsdale – £30million+

The now number two goalkeeper will be looking to find a new home and Arsenal have reportedly set a £30million asking price for the England international and quite rightly. Signed for £24milllion plus add-ons in 2021, he has since improved and is under a long-term deal and should fetch upwards of this despite early concerns from the likes of Newcastle United.

Oleksandr Zinchenko – £20million+

Having fallen down the pecking order to Takehiro Tomiyasu and even Jakub Kiwior, the 27-year-old has just two years left on his deal but offers plenty of quality. Arsenal might indeed be open to offers for the Ukrainian considering the integration of Jurrien Timber but should expect offers upwards of £20million to sell the former Manchester City full-back.

Kieran Tierney – £15million+

Having spent the season on loan with Real Sociedad, injury issues continued for Kieran Tierney and he returns with just one year left on his Arsenal contract. That said, he is of a good age and the 26-year-old should have plenty of interest in him, especially with European experience under his belt.

Nuno Tavares – £5million+

Arguably the trickiest player for sporting director Edu to shift and even despite the sub-£10million buy price, Arsenal are certain to still make a loss on Nuno Tavares. They might hope for at least £5million but even this could be a challenge.

Thomas Partey – £15million+

One year remains on Thomas Partey’s Arsenal contract and despite a preference to stay being reported, the Ghanaian could leave the club with the Gunners open to offers. Interest from Saudi Arabia and Turkey exists and a fee of £15million-plus to offset the £200,000-plus per week wages makes plenty of sense.

Albert Sambi Lokonga – £10million+

After a decent season on loan with Luton Town, Albert Sambi Lokonga has publicly admitted talks with Arsenal concluded it would be best for him to seek a new club. They should aim to get as much of the £17.5million they paid Anderlecht for the Belgian but could struggle.

Emile Smith Rowe – £30million+

The saddest of the group in terms of seeing a player leave, there looked to be such a bright future for Emile Smith Rowe but a combination of persistent injury issues and the system which Mikel Arteta deploys at Arsenal sees it very unlikely for him to fit into the side’s plans. As a homegrown, young player however, who had already seen £30million-plus bids from Aston Villa knocked back not so long ago they should be looking for a similar fee this summer at least.

Fabio Vieira – £20million+

Another player whose promise has been stunted by injuries and now suggestions are that his performances in training have left the club considering offers should they arrive. £34million was spent just two years ago and now the club will be lucky to make back just over half this fee but they should certainly be trying to maximise any potential sale to help offset what was paid.

Eddie Nketiah – £25million+

Now a full senior international, a summer transfer is the right thing for both Arsenal and Eddie Nketiah as he leaves in search of establishing himself in a Premier League side where he can play and score regularly. The talent is certainly there and given the responsibility he could score a bucket-load of goals for another side but that will not be happening with the Gunners but his profile should fetch a decent fee this summer.

Reiss Nelson – £12million+

There is still a chance that Reiss Nelson could stay having signed a new deal only last year putting him on a good wage for a player who gets so few minutes. With that lack of game time however it does mean any potential sale is not likely to receive much more than £10million.