According to 90Min, Arsenal are growing rather concerned that Mikel Arteta will be targeted by Manchester City when Pep Guardiola eventually leaves the club.
Guardiola’s contract at the Etihad is up in the summer, and while he’s not expected to leave in 2023, there is an outside chance that he will call it a day and head elsewhere at the end of the season.
Arsenal are concerned that Arteta will be in their sights if this does happen, and, well, to be honest, that would make sense.
Arteta, of course, served as Pep’s assistant for quite some time at Man City, and Guardiola has been very open about how much he admires Arteta’s coaching abilities in the past.
Guardiola loves Arteta
The Man City boss has previously spoken to The Telegraph about his assistant.
“He’s a young manager, he’s 37, so he is so young but he has experience already to handle big players and teams and when it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen,” Guardiola said.
“He’s helped me a lot. From day one, so not just the last two seasons, from day one. He has an incredible work ethic, and he has a special talent to analyse what happens, and to find the solutions.
“We talk a lot about what he believes and feels and so on. He helped me a lot, especially in the first year. He knew the Premier League – like for example in games against Stoke or whatever.
“He can tell me about the players we will face better than myself, because he played against them and was in the Premier League for ten or 11 years. That’s a long time.”
Trust the process
For months Mikel Arteta has been telling fans at Arsenal to trust the long-term process in north London, and now it’s time for him to also trust it.
Yes, Man City would be tempting if they came calling. They have some of the best players in the world and an almost limitless pot of cash to use on transfers.
However, as we’re seeing this season, Arsenal have one of the brightest young squads in the whole of Europe, and surely Arteta would want to see this project through rather than jumping ship and joining Man City.
Arteta could be tempted to leave, but, in our view, he has plenty of unfinished business at the Emirates to tend to.
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