Arsenal: New Bukayo Saka contract an absolute no-brainer

18-year-old Bukayo Saka is currently shining for Arsenal. With only 18 months to run on his current deal, securing a new contract is an absolute no-brainer for a club infamous with screwing up its players’ contracts.

It has been a remarkable first season as a senior footballer at Arsenal for 18-year-old Bukayo Saka. Officially promoted into the first-team squad in the summer, Saka has flourished throughout his rookie campaign, first displaying his offensive qualities under Unai Emery before shining out of position for new head coach, Mikel Arteta.

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Indeed, it is his recent performances at left-back that have really caught the eye. The young Englishman tallied yet another assist on Sunday with a nasty nutmeg and cutback cross for Nicolas Pepe — it was his eighth assist on the season, the most of any player in the squad — and is showing his positional intelligence, awareness, and willingness to work hard.

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And his manager is ecstatic with Saka’s performance. Arteta was asked about the positional adaptation of Saka earlier this season. Here is what he said:

"“He’s learning that you are able to adapt and that you are able to sacrifice for the team, and [you learn that you] don’t use excuses. If you are moved, to say ‘OK, now if I do not play good, I have the right excuse because this is not my position’. It’s the complete opposite, try to learn, try to pick things up straight away and try to be more productive for the team, and I think he has done it really, really well.”"

But Arteta is not the only one enjoying the prosperous relationship. Saka, too, is enjoying his football in north London and under Arteta’s tutelage:

"“I’m really enjoying my football under the new manager. It’s not my natural position but he’s given me all the advice I need. I’ve got Granit [Xhaka] behind, David [Luiz] supporting and speaking to me so it gives me licence to go and express myself in the final third and do what I can do.”"

But with success comes expectation and attention. And suddenly, it has been made known that Saka only has 18 months remaining on a contract that reportedly only pays him £3,000 per week. That is not an abnormal wage for a young prospect out of the academy, but he is currently a regular starter for the first team. He is vastly underpaid.

As a result, per David Ornstein of The Athletic, Arsenal are extremely keen to fast-track contract negotiations with Saka. They have little intention of allowing talks to delay until the summer, when Saka will have just one year remaining and holds all of the power, and are willing to offer a bumper pay rise to secure his long-term future.

If you want a definition of a no-brainer decision, this is it. A teenager who is starting every game, impacting the team like a senior performer, and is only improving every week, all despite playing out of position. Saka is flourishing like no one could have expected, and for that, a new contract irrefutably and necessarily beckons.

Arsenal are infamous for failing to tie down their talent to long-term contracts. But with Saka’s emergence as one of the brightest young talents in English football, the decision has been made for them. Saka simply has to sign a new deal, no matter how much it costs.