Arsenal have tied down manager Mikel Arteta’s backroom staff to new contracts.
Arteta has developed a core coaching group during his time at the club, which includes assistants Albert Stuivenberg and Carlos Cuesta, first-team coach Miguel Molina, goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana and set-piece specialist Nicolas Jover.
The Arsenal manager signed a new contract in September last year that extended his stay at Emirates Stadium until 2027.
Arteta’s backroom staff, however, did not pen new deals at the same time and their contracts were due to expire at the end of this season.
The quintet are now understood to have all penned new contracts, though, which brings them in line with the length of Arteta’s contract.
Arteta revealed in December how Arsenal were planning to tie down his backroom staff and the club had originally wanted to do so when he signed his new contract.
“We all tried to do it at the same time,” said Arteta. “It is difficult because four or five people committing at the same time is not easy to do.
“I am so happy with them and I value them at the highest level. I want to continue together so hopefully it will be resolved very soon.”
Stuivenberg joined Arsenal in December 2019 when Arteta was hired and has become a trusted ally for him.
The Athletic reported in December last year how he agreed new terms and the deal is now signed, with Cana, Cuesta, Jover and Molina understood to have followed suit around a similar time.
Cana also joined Arsenal when Arteta was appointed, arriving from Brentford where he worked as a goalkeeper coach.
Cuesta and Molina joined the backroom staff after Arteta’s first season in charge during the summer of 2020.
Jover was the last of the quintet to arrive, moving to Arsenal in the summer of 2021 after previously working at Manchester City.
He has turned Arsenal into one of the best teams in the world when it comes to set-pieces.
Jover has also become a cult hero among fans and there is a mural of him near Emirates Stadium.
“I had to do a lot of digging,” said Arteta, when asked how he discovered Jover. “But in relation to that and the individual development, it is an area that was not explored enough in my opinion.
“It was one of the evolutions the game was going to have and (we) try to always be ahead to maximise those opportunities.”
