Arsenal make Saka best-paid player with new five-year deal

England winger Bukayo Saka has signed a new five-year contract with Arsenal until 2031.

Sources have told BBC Sport that the agreement will make Saka the club’s best-paid player on wages in excess of £300,000 a week.

Talks over a new deal have been ongoing for nearly a year, with Saka verbally agreeing to commit his future to the club in January.

Saka signed his previous deal, which was due to expire in 2027, in 2023 but his renewal means the 24-year-old has committed his peak years to the Gunners.

The news comes as a major boost for the Gunners, as they battle on four fronts to win silverware for the first time since 2020.

The agreement is the latest example of Arsenal tying down their key players to long-term contracts as they look to keep their title-chasing squad together.

William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly all signed new long-term contracts in the summer.

Saka has scored seven goals in 33 appearances for the Gunners this term.

Mikel Arteta’s side are four points clear at the top of the Premier League and they will face Manchester City in the EFL Cup final in March.

The agreement with Saka is more important than the £250m outlay Arsenal made to bring in eight new players in the summer.

Saka’s importance on the pitch alongside his bond with supporters and his journey from the academy make his position impossible to replicate.

His new deal will see him stay at the club into the peak years of his career and – after several seasons with numbers that match elite wingers across the game – Arsenal will benefit from the progression he could still achieve.

The second half of this season is crucial for Saka as he looks to help Arsenal lift a major trophy for the first time since the FA Cup in 2020.

Mikel Arteta can rely on him and he is one of the reasons why the majority of Arsenal’s attacking play goes down the right – the side Saka plays on.

The winger is also set for an important summer with Thomas Tuchel’s England at the World Cup.