Why Arsenal Are Right to Extend Mikel Arteta's Contract

Arsenal's decision to extend Mikel Arteta’s contract has been met with consternation in some sections of the Gunners' fanbase. The veteran Spaniard barely contributed last season as a succession of calf problems led to ankle surgery.

During his absence, Francis Coquelin superseded him as Arsene Wenger’s first-choice defensive midfielder. There are those who wondered whether Wenger might let his skipper walk away on a free transfer.

With his contract due to expire this summer, the club were curiously quiet about the prospect of a new deal. However, Wenger recently confirmed to Arsenal's official site that Arteta will remain in north London. Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s tour to Asia, in which Arteta will take part, Wenger said:

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He will stay with us for one more year because he has extended his contract. He’s one of the leaders in the club because he’s the captain of the team. I expect him to contribute much more than last season but he also faces a battle.

With the number of games we have ahead, we could use his experience, his desire and his quality as it will be vital for next season.

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Wenger is right about the “battle” Arteta faces for a first-team place. The rise of Coquelin has been nothing short of extraordinary, and it’s now impossible to imagine an Arsenal XI without the combative Frenchman.

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In some ways, Coquelin’s physical style provided an antithesis to the more thoughtful Arteta. The Spaniard arrived at Arsenal as a playmaker and was converted into a pivot by Wenger. He proved to be a great distributor, but age and injuries meant he was never quite robust enough to flourish in the new role.

However, he remains a competent holding midfielder with excellent ball-retention skills. There are times when that capacity to keep possession could be invaluable to Arsenal.

There’s also his influence away from the pitch to consider. Although Per Mertesacker wore the armband for the majority of last season, Arteta remains club captain and a hugely influential figure on the training ground. In the past, Wenger has perhaps been too quick to jettison more experienced players, leaving his squad bereft of leadership.

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Arteta’s continued presence ensures that won’t be the case. By way of example, even though he didn’t take to the field in last season’s FA Cup final, his presence was still felt. Theo Walcott explained the captain’s pre-match contribution to the club's official site:

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We had a nice little video and Mikel stood up and said a few words to the players who weren't involved in the FA Cup last year, like some of the foreign guys. Just showing the video shows how passionate the club are and it being the 19th occasion [in the final] as well and potentially the 12th win is a great achievement. Those words were very strong.

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Crucially, extending Arteta’s contract is also something of an insurance policy. Wenger must recognise he has no direct replacement for Coquelin’s aggressive attributes, but there’s no guarantee he’ll discover someone with that precise skill set before the closure of this transfer window.

Keeping Arteta on at least guarantees Arsenal will have some measure of cover—if a more attractive option comes on to the market, Wenger can still pursue them and simply knock Arteta further down the pecking order. His actions with the goalkeeping situation in this window show he is not afraid to be ruthless.

Arteta is no long-term solution. Nor is he even an obvious first-team starter. However, his continued presence around the club is certainly no bad thing.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2015-16 season. Follow him on Twitter here.