Arsenal make Saka best-paid player with new 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.

He made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old in 2018 after coming through Arsenal's academy and has gone on to make 217 Premier League appearances, scoring 57 goals.

Saka is 116 Premier League appearances behind Ray Parlour's record 333 for the Gunners and will have been a professional at the club for 13 years when his new deal expires in 2031.

Saka has scored 14 goals in 48 appearances for England and is expected to be part of Thomas Tuchel's squad for the World Cup which begins in June.

Arsenal 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 Gunners are also through to the the knockout stages of the Champions League, as well as the fifth round of the FA Cup.

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.

England fans will hope that after a season of success with Arsenal, he can deliver for his country on the biggest stage.