Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta signed a new contract to 2027 on Thursday.
“I feel very inspired, I feel challenged, I feel supported and I want to do much more than what we’ve already done together,” Arteta said.
The 42-year-old Spanish coach has been at Arsenal since December 2019 and transformed the team into Manchester City's main English Premier League title rival by finishing runner-up in the last two seasons.
His previous deal was expiring at the end of this season and speculation mentioned him as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at City.
“We are really happy that Mikel has signed a new long-term contract. It’s a very positive and proud moment for everyone at the club," Arsenal sporting director Edu said.
“Mikel has shown his qualities since the very first day he joined us, not only as a football manager, but as a person with wonderful values. We have a strong belief in what we are doing and what we want to achieve together. Mikel’s new contract gives us stability and clear direction as we aim for new heights.”
Arteta was Guardiola's assistant at City before succeeding Unai Emery at Arsenal and going on to win the FA Cup in his first season in charge.
Two seasons ago, Arsenal spent 248 days at the top of the league but was beaten to the title by City. No other team had spent so long in first place without being crowned league champion.
Last season, Arsenal pushed City even closer when taking the title race down to the last day, and eventually finished two points behind Guardiola's team.
“Mikel is a dynamic and passionate manager, who is relentless in the pursuit of excellence,” Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke said. “He has a deep understanding of Arsenal’s values, and since joining us as head coach in December 2019, he has taken the team to another level in an Arsenal way.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Brighton, at Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Fans show a banner with photo of Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta, reading in Spanish "Let's go" during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Brighton, at Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta gives instructions to his players during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Brighton, at Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy" Combs was expected to appear before a federal judge in New York on Tuesday after his indictment on undisclosed criminal charges.
The music mogul was arrested late Monday in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
The indictment detailing the charges was expected to be unsealed Tuesday morning, according to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
Over the past year, Combs has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied many of those allegations and his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, called the new indictment an “unjust prosecution.”
“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said in a statement late Monday.
Combs, 58, was recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations that emerged over the past year turned him into an industry pariah.
In November, his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit saying he had beaten and raped her for years. She accused Combs of coercing her, and others, into unwanted sex in drug-fueled settings.
The suit was settled in one day but months later CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her on a floor. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, “I was disgusted when I did it.”
Combs and his attorneys, however, denied similar allegations made by others in a string of lawsuits.
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Cassie, said in a statement Tuesday that “neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment.”
“We appreciate your understanding and if that changes, we will certainly let you know,” he added.
A woman said Combs raped her two decades ago when she was 17. A music producer sued, saying Combs forced him to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, said Combs subjected her to “terrifying sexual encounters,” starting when she was a college student in 1994.
The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie and Lampros did.
Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has gotten out of legal trouble before.
In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a Manhattan nightclub shooting two years earlier that injured three people. His then-protege, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served about eight years in prison.
Associated Press writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
FILE - Host Sean "Diddy" Combs presents the revolt black excellence award at the Billboard Music Awards, May 15, 2022, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
Sean 'Diddy' Combs is expected in court after New York indictment
Sean 'Diddy' Combs is expected in court after New York indictment
FILE - Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of "The Four: Battle For Stardom" at the CBS Radford Studio Center on May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
