Arsenal agree 'improved contract' with £100k-a-week star as Andrea Berta repeats Leandro Trossard trick

Arsenal have reportedly repeated their Leandro Trossard trick by agreeing a new contract with a pay rise for a fundamental cog in Mikel Arteta's system.

Earlier this summer, it was claimed that the Gunners and Trossard had shaken hands over a renewal that would see the Belgian pocket a salary increase to reflect his status in the squad.

However, Trossard did not sign an actual contract extension with Arsenal, and the former Brighton & Hove Albion attacker therefore only remains contracted to the club until the end of the 2026-27 season.

According to BBC Sport, the Premier League leaders have now adopted the same approach with number one goalkeeper David Raya, who has said yes to an improved contract at the Emirates Stadium.

The Spain international quickly displaced Aaron Ramsdale as number one following his arrival from Brentford on loan in 2023, and the Gunners unsurprisingly made his stay permanent at the end of the campaign for around £27m.

Arsenal contract news: David Raya 'agrees' pay rise with Mikel Arteta's side

Since swapping Brentford for Arsenal, Raya has become a two-time Premier League Golden Glove winner - sharing last season's prize with Matz Sels of Nottingham Forest - and he was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for 2023-24.

Regarded as one of the finest shot-stoppers in the land, Raya also won two Premier League Save of the Month awards last season, and the 30-year-old has kept a total of 45 clean sheets in 105 games for Arteta's side in all tournaments.

The report claims that Raya's pay increase was agreed upon during the summer months, but the Gunners have not announced the new contract and may not do so at all, as was the case with Trossard.

The former Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper is still due to become a free agent in the summer of 2028, although there is understood to be an extension option in his Arsenal agreement.

Raya previously made £100,000 a week at Arsenal - according to Capology - but the Spaniard is now likely to pocket a substantial pay increase as a reward for his exceptional displays over the past two years.

David Raya agrees new Arsenal deal: Who next for Andrea Berta?

While £100,000 is by no means meagre, it may seem so from the outside for a player of Raya's ilk, and Arsenal have made it a priority to pay their players what their performances merit.

Now that the 30-year-old has been taken care of, Arsenal are supposedly ramping up efforts to secure the long-term future of right-back Jurrien Timber, whose deal also does not expire until the summer of 2028.

In addition, there has supposedly been positive contact with the entourage of Bukayo Saka, who is out of contract in 2027 but is expected to find an agreement with the club to stay in due course.

Meanwhile, Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli can both leave for nothing in 2027, although Arsenal can also activate a 12-month extension in the latter's terms to protect his value.