LONDON (AP) — Arsenal secured homegrown star Bukayo Saka to an extended contract Tuesday as together they target a first Premier League title in 20 years after being outlasted by Manchester City this season.
The 21-year-old England winger signed through 2027 with the club he joined as a boy and made a first-team debut with four seasons ago.
“I think this is the right club, the right place to make the next step,” Saka said in a statement on Arsenal’s website. “It’s a beautiful club -- look where we are.”
Arsenal led the Premier League for most of an exhilarating season before a young team faded in the final stretch, worn down by defending champion Man City’s deep and expensively assembled squad.
Saka has scored 14 goals this season, two more than the previous campaign, and appeared in each of Arsenal’s Premier League games.
“I think I have everything I need to become the best player I can be, and that’s why I’m happy to stay here and be here for the future,” Saka said, “because I really believe that we can achieve big things.”
Saka can expect to make his Champions League debut when Arsenal returns to the elite competition in September for the first time in seven seasons.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta praised Saka as “a special person, he’s loved by us all and he is a credit to himself and his family for the hard work and commitment they have all made to get to this level today.”
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