It was widely thought that Mikel Arteta would fall foul or Arsenal’s ‘Curse of the captain’s armband’ when Arsene Wenger picked him as Club Captain on the departure of Thomas Vermaelen, especially as he is 32 years old and his contract was reported to be up at the end of this season.
When Arteta then got injured after playing just seven games and is now out until the end of the season. After going through an ankle operation it was thought unlikely that he would be given a new contract until he was fully recovered.
But now his agent Inaki Ibanez has told footmercato.net that an extension has been signed. ‘Mikel is no longer free next June, because he now has an extra year on his contract,’ he said.
Of course there is still nothing announced on Arsenal.com to that effect, but it is a good time to discuss the reasons why Wenger decided to extend his contract? Is it because Arteta has a wealth of experience to pass on to our youngsters by his example, or does Le Prof think the team will actually have need of a 33 year-old defensive midfielder next season?
And another thing, why was Arteta given an extra year, but nothing was negotiated with Coquelin or Akpom before the season started? That is STILL annoying me!