Is Bukayo Saka the highest paid player at Arsenal as he signs a new four-year contract deal?

Off the back of Bukayo Saka’s second Player of the Season accolade, Arsenal bosses have locked the 21-year-old down for a further four years at the Emirates stadium.

Saka, who has been instrumental for both Arsenal and Three Lions successes over the past year, will spend his 13th year at the club following this new contract deal after he first joined the Gunners Hale End Academy at the age of eight before making his professional debut in 2018.

This season alone Saka has been a talisman for manager Mikel Arteta in his title push as he put 18 goals on the scorecard and 11 assists.

Talking about Saka’s contract, Arteta said: “It’s great for the club that Bukayo has extended his contract. Retaining our best young talents is key to our continued progress and Bukayo represents such an important part of our squad now and for the future.

“As well as being a fantastic talent, Bukayo is 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.”

As mentioned, the Gunners have been keen to secure some of their best players for next season, especially those who helped the team come so close to securing the Premier League title from Manchester City including Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Martinelli.

However, Bukayo’s success and status as one of the best in the PL over the last year has ‘spelled out’ a particularly bright future for the young talent as he becomes the club’s highest earner currently.

The price tag in question means that Bukayo will be paid around £200,000 - £300,000 a week depending on bonuses, compared to his prior deal worth £65,000 a week. In relation to his Arsenal teammates, this new figure ranks highly in contrast to Thomas Partey who earns just over £150,000 a week (still pretty decent...)

Before Bukayo’s latest contract, Arsenal’s forward Gabriel Jesus was the highest earning player with £265,000 (inc. bonuses) a week.

Considering Bukayo’s form at Arsenal and the Three Lions as the next round of Euro qualifiers looms, his new contract and his private relationship with Tolami Benson still reportedly going strong, 2023 is shaping up to be quite the year for the 21-year-old.