EXCLUSIVE: Cazorla ready to sign new Arsenal contract alongside Mertesacker and Rosicky with Wenger set to land big three

Cazorla to put pen to paper on deal that will keep him at Arsenal until 2017

Spain star's contract to be announced alongside new agreements with Per Mertesacker and Tomas Rosicky

Creative midfielder will earn around £80,000-a-week

Arsene Wenger has been keen to tie down his best players this season



Santi Cazorla is set to become the third senior Arsenal player to agree a new contract.

The Spain midfielder has been in talks with club chiefs about signing an improved deal that will keep him at the Emirates Stadium until 2017 - his current contract ends in 2016



Sportsmail understands that Arsenal and Cazorla, who turned 29 in December, are close to finalising terms that will lift his salary to around £80,000-a-week.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch Cazorla and team-mates take part in flight simulator challenge



Ready to commit: Sportsmail understands that Santi Cazorla is set to sign a new deal at Arsenal

Happy looking! Cazorla was all smiles on Friday morning ahead of Arsenal's trip to Stoke this weekend

Added time: The midfielder is on the cusp of agreeing a new contract that will keep him at the club until 2017

Good news: Manager Arsene Wenger has been busy tying up new contracts for a number of his top players

Package: Cazorla's extension is set to be announced alongside deals for Tomas Rosicky and Per Mertesacker

Cazorla’s new deal is set to be announced as part of a package with senior team-mates Per Mertesacker and Tomas Rosicky.



Mertesacker, 29, has approved a new deal that will tie him to the club until the summer of 2017, while Rosicky, 33, has agreed a new one-year rolling contract.



Arsene Wenger revealed after Arsenal’s victory over Sunderland last weekend that Rosicky had agreed fresh terms and it is believed that Mertesacker and now Cazorla are close to following suit.



However, Arsenal have not yet secured the future of one of their longest-serving players, defender Bacary Sagna, who is out of contract in the summer and has offers on the table from a string of clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Inter Milan and Galatasaray.



Cazorla has been a virtual ever-present in Wenger’s team since joining from Malaga in the summer of 2012 - making 81 appearances and scoring 18 goals. He has played principally on the flanks following the £42.5million club-record signing of Mesut Ozil last August but his technique, touch and combination play is considered by Wenger to be crucial to his side’s style of play.



Gunners chiefs, led by contract negotiator Dicky Law, have been busy over the last year securing the futures of the club’s most influential players.



British sextet Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson all signed new deals just over 12 months ago, while goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny penned an improved contract earlier in the season.

Not bad! Wenger has done well in securing the long-term services of some of his top players

Crucial: The Gunners recently managed to tie midfielder Jack Wilshere down to the club for his best years

Looking ahead: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is blossoming centrally and out wide for the title chasers