Pep Guardiola says Manchester City have not received any approach from Arsenal to speak to Mikel Arteta, which could suggest our former club captain is not one of the front-runners for the vacant position.
The Spaniard came very close to succeeding Arsene Wenger 18 months ago and is presumed to be on a shortlist again now that Unai Emery has been sacked. Everton, another of Arteta’s former clubs, are also said to be sniffing around.
Pep Guardiola asked if there's been any approach yet for Mikel Arteta: "No."
Has he spoken to you about his future? "No."
You want him to stay? "Yes."
— Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) December 6, 2019
Obviously not in a mood to discuss the matter at length, Guardiola gave a series of short, sharp responses to questions posed by the media ahead of this weekend’s Manchester derby.
He denied any approaches had been made, confirmed he’d not spoken with Arteta about his future and went on to say that he wants his assistant to stay at the Etihad.
“I’m not a guy that puts a gun to the heads of my staff or players and says what they have to do,” said Guardiola.
“We’re human beings and everyone has dreams and desires. Hopefully, he can stay this season and the next one – as long as possible in this club.
“That would be my dream, but Mikel has his own life and I will never say what he has to do.
“I arrived here and we were in touch about working together and the time we’ve spent together has been magnificent.
“I tried to help him and he’s helped me a lot. He knows what I want and what the club wants.
“Hopefully he will stay but, at the end of the season, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Interestingly, several reports this morning claim that Guardiola is weighing up whether to offer Domènec Torrent the chance to return to Manchester. He is a close confidante of Pep’s – they worked together at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City – and is currently out of work after a stint at MLS side New York City FC.
Elsewhere, Brendan Rodgers has ended speculation that he could be tempted by the Arsenal job by signing a new deal with Leicester City. The former Liverpool and Celtic boss has been handed a pay rise in recognition for the quick turnaround he’s implemented at the King Power stadium; the Foxes are currently second in the Premier League.
News of a big buyout clause in Rafa Benitez’s contract would likely make it impossible to lure him from his current club in China. Dalian Yifang would want around £20 million for the 59-year-old who only joined in the summer.
I’m reminded of Captain Darling’s diary entry on the day he gets told to join the front line.
If I were Arteta, I would just stay with Pep, the challenge at the Emirates is just to big for him-with all due respect.
Poch is available though….
Is it though? I think if you’re an ambitious guy you look at this Arsenal and see the potential to start a new project and imprint your ideas. We’re inevitably going to have to shed players like Aubameyang, Lacazette, Xhaka the trio of shit at the back. But there’s a group of talented youngsters to work with, and a low expectations environment where you can only possibly make things better. That transition is the scary part, but the more it becomes a necessity and not a choice (which at this point barring Europa League miracles it is…and possibly even then)… Read more »
I look at Arsenal and see a job that says “Be Wenger 2.0”.
I don’t see a potential for opportunities to rebuild a brand, especially at the Arsenal. We spent 100 mil this summer, and the personnel we have are great on paper. We have a cleanup job.
Do you really want a serial loser who has never won a single trophy in 12 years of being a manager?
He managed a team of serial losers to consecutive top 4 finishes and a Champions league final bout. I’d take him any day to manage our current bunch of serial losers wearing the Arsenal badge.
Yes because we a team in relegation form and on course on current form will be finishing in the lower half of the table.
I have quit pretending that we are a top team and will be happy to have a manager who is also eyed by Man U, Real Madrid and Bayern.
If Poch repeats his ‘serial loser’ level that he had with Spuds, we would have done well in the next c.3 seasons he would be with us.
Agreed, it is clear that the most important criterion for our next manager is experience. We’re in a real mess here, and can not afford to take any kind of unnecessary risk.
I’m getting really concerned at how fucked we could be. The team are in relegation form and the top brass don’t have a clue. This is getting very serious
I’d take Poch in a heartbeat.
But I think my first choice would be Allegri.
Poch said he won’t join us.
Has Allegri ever managed a team on the verge of a relegation battle ?
I reckon the problem with Allegri would be us backing him up. Are we really ambitious to give him 150-200mil to spend? Plus he comes with like 12 other backroom staff that will cost us.
Why would I risk my reputation if I only had the typical arsenal transfer budget of 50mil?
I’d love for him to sign and the club to say to him here is 200Mil. Do whatever it takes. But how unrealistic is that.
Allegri managed Cagliari well before AC Milan.
He turned AC Milan to champion in his first year also.
I guess he is a good manager
Glad Rodgers is unavailable, personally.
yeah I would have hated to be second place in the league, playing well, with lesser players…
Do you really think that will last? His only real success was at Celtic in the one horse league. He’s really not the answer
He was one gerrard slip away from winning the league with a blistering attacking ‘pool side. I’d have taken him.
I’d love to have him. He’s a bit of a weirdo but I like weirdos. I’m not sure Arsenal have much to offer him, though. They have much greater resources than Leicester but what are the chances he’d be able to use them? It’s probably better for him to do a good job at Leicester and then, with luck, be snapped up by potential Champions League winners. Arsenal aren’t that and show no signs of being that. Under Kroenke, Gazidis, Sanllehi et al the glamour of the Invincibles has dwindled into nothing. For non-fans, Arsenal are just a second tier… Read more »
We know why he is there. Chelsea,Man u, Arsenal, Tot are all shit this season
I think they just won 7 in a row and are ahead of City, who are certainly not shit, although not in top form either
Me too, can we open the archives on this site to see what Arsenal fans had said about Rodgers before?
I have this vague memory that Rodgers said he wasn’t going to leave Celtic and ended up doing just that. Hope this time he keeps his word.
I believe the terms ‘gleet hound’ and a few others were used. Funny thing is, my memory, as poor as it is, doesn’t recall much of the criticism being based on inability. He was pretty intolerable at times on that show though. A fucking portrait of himself. Yikes.
That said, if he came and turned us around I wouldn’t mind that so much. He’s not Mourinho. His teams play football.
Rodgers did an excellent job of getting an extended contract out of the speculation from Arsenal. Well played.
Just like Vardy.
There’s been suggestions that Arteta is being groomed as the long term heir to Pep at City, so I couldn’t blame him if he decided to stay put.
Did you notice the bit where Pep said “hopefully he’s here next season as well”? Does that mean Pep will be leaving after next season?
There have been suggestions that he could look to leave in 2021 if he still hasn’t won the CL, but it’s just speculation atm.
He’ll get bored and look for the next Champagne club.
Yeah, he really ought to be coaching at some shithole club, so’s to prove himself to anonymous wankers on the internet.
PSG?
Lee Dixon’s statement that the Board are in no hurry to name Emery’s successor is worrying. Under more “normal” circumstances it is prudent to avoid rushing into such an appointment. But the trouble is we are sinking faster than the Titanic and need an experienced steady hand immediately. Forget any long term developmental plans for now. We just need someone to steady the ship for 6 months.
No. We don’t need an interim manager.
I don’t think we necessarily need a Rafa/Ancellotti type. We just need someone with a strong vision who can organise and work with this team. That could be Arteta, Freddie, Viera or someone like Pochettino. While there is romanticism in Freddie doing well in the interim and then taking the position full time (would of course be my preference here – he’s Arsenal through and through). If we are to keep that open as a possibility then we need to afford Freddie time to work with this group. There has been some small improvements already, out attacking play has looked… Read more »
Well all that means that 2 men our off the shortlist. The board need to their fingers out and get some one in ASAP. I love Freddy, but we need some one in that will give us confidence boost. We have seen with Freddy that with his appointment the squad still is lacking confidence, I think it would be same with Viera… Really hope we can get Allegri or Simone.. Hell even though he struggling at Napoli Ancelotti would be welcome
I was hoping for Rafa, but that buyout is bad news. Same apparently for Poch.
Wolves are legit, and I can’t see Nuno leaving before their run in the Europa. He’d have a better chance of winning that trophy with his current team as he would taking over ours. Unless there’s a huge pay bump, but again: money.
I think the only men willing to step up to this task midseason will be Arsenal men. Vieira or Freddie, and it’s already Freddie’s.
I think we need a coach who can instil some discipline like Benítez, but I also think it’s the time to be slightly brave and not go with the safe option. Poch isn’t happening. With that thought why not go for someone like Bielsa? He will play great football, is a visionary and can place the right footballing values (hard working pressing team). He has been in England for enough time now. Even if he doesn’t win things, he will make us much much better for a younger manager in the future.
Have you been following the situation with Eddie at Leeds? Bielsa is stubborn, set in his ways, intractable, and can’t speak English. There’s nothing visionary about him. He’s just a “name” with a reputation.
Raul loves a “name” with a reputation.
As mentioned, reality a different thing than what many fans prefer to believe. Fire a manager but than what can you do next? Appointing just about anyone will get us into further mess if we prefer to kick the can down the road. There will be further instability as some of the top players will leave and we will compound any issues rebuilding. Remember as well we have backloaded on the unproductive Pepe and the unavailable Saliba. Therefore any (permanent) appointment for the next manager must be carefully considered. Timing will be an issue. As mention, it may be highly… Read more »
To be honest it’s time to admit that some of our players aren’t as good as we make them to be and we have been looking at them with rose tinted glasses all along. A major overhaul is needed especially in midfield and in defense as in with the current squad not even Klopp can improve us.
Some of this players don’t even play for the club which pays them or the fans who support them anymore
Thank you. I get grief (not really on here) for saying our players aren’t good enough. Most of them aren’t bad players. But remember who we are. We’re not a club that should be praising players when we’re mid table and looking down I stead of up the table. They let Wenger down. They let Emery down. And now they’re letting Freddie down. Tony Adams called it a few weeks ago when he said that it didn’t matter who you brought in to manage the club, because the players just aren’t good enough. He’s right, unless the board changes its… Read more »
The Kroenke’s will only hire yes men who parrot their expressions of sproting glory becuase they have to say those things to pacate fans because they actually don’t have sporting goals, they have business goals. Until they aren’t meeting their business goals, nothing will change at Arsenal. Nothing. To attain goals in an organization, you have to have alignment from the very top to the very bottom. We have mis-alignment, leadership has business goals, we as fans and supporters have sporting goals. When players outside of Arsenal realize the club has no sporting goals, they will stop coming here, at… Read more »
Ancelotti, Allegri or Benitez for me (out of the realistic choices). Somebody who could sort out our defending. Somebody who won’t put up with crap.
For now though, until the big clear out, I’d go with this:
Leno
Bellerin Holding Chambers Tierney
Luiz Torriera
Pepe Ceballos Martinelli
Aubameyang
Not too bad although Ozil might be a better choice than Ceballos
I like the look of this line up. Luiz in there still worries me, but its clear he isn’t a Centre Back.
Ceballos is a good shout, but with his fitness and injury record what it is, it might be better to repurpose Lacazette there or continue with Willock’s development – there is of course Ozil to consider.
Definitely leans more towards project youth 2.0 (or is it 2.1?)
Agree with Ancelotti. Hope he gets sacked at Naples soon. Allegra e
Will get results but will not entertain us. Ancelotti is therefore better. Look at Naples against Liverpool, and not only once!
I remember the days of “1-Nil to The Arsenal”. I no longer care about entertaining. I just want to see winning. We are at a point where we need a decent string of wins. Sadly we get far tougher opponents in the next few weeks. Somehow Freddie must get us into winning habits at our lowest ebb and against our toughest competition, because nobody else is coming to join us quickly enough to keep us out of the relegation places. On current form there are NO teams in the Premier League that we can beat. If we don’t start regularly… Read more »
Ceballos isn’t a 10, we have tried that already and it failed.
It’s a poisoned chalice. We’ve no money after gambling next years money this summer, an appalling defence, disinterested senior players, our best player looking to jump ship and a very real relegation battle on the horizon because our December fixtures are a nightmare. Awful awful times
P00P
I’m just glad it’s not Brendan Rodgers. The guy has a big ego and wouldn’t help anybody. Big reason why sterling left liverpool.
Because Sterling’s got a small ego, right?
Imagine: Arsenal: Pep you coming to Arsenal end of this season? Pep: If Manc fire me, yea for sure. Hell, been here long enough anyway. Arsenal: And we want Arteta too, for after you leave us. Pep: That makes sense. Arsenal: Sorry, we dont do the over 10 year ting anymore. Unless you win top trophy every year, hell you can stay for life. Pep: But if i win CL this year, i might stay at ManC, dosh is sooo good. Arsenal: Thats cool. We cant pay you that amount, you will need some for players. We will just have… Read more »
Cool story bro
In an alternate reality/dimension etc, maybe ?
Duncan Ferguson takes temporary charge of a dismal Everton and they spank Chelsea….*sigh*
Any man who comes in has to start winning.If you want to win a strong defence is crucial. Most teams cede possession and let the gunners attack.As is usual the gunners indulge in a bout if merry passing but make no headway . Flexibility is essential but the gunners still stick to the possession and passing disease . Soon the y will lose possession and the a quick counter and the ball is in the gunners net. It has happened countless times .Most famous was the one NU won3-1 in 2001 when Robson said Wenger must learn to lose graciously.… Read more »
Nobody is coming. Freddie has to do it. Now.
Arteta is an unproven managerial talent .He maybe learning from the maestro of a manager .However that doesn’t mean he will replicate the former. MC dominated in possession but its goals that win games. Arsenal are too obsessed with possession and passing. MU dissected MC with swift passing and scored. I feel that any manager worth his salt shd take a leaf from how other teams score.The moment you say you have nothing to learn is naïve. That’s what WEnger did when asked to hire a defence coach. He said he had 30 years coaching experience and didn’t need anyone.… Read more »
When Pep says to a player “Come join our team. We win stuff. We will pay you a fortune” the player listens because its Pep and massive amounts of money too. If Arteta comes to Arsenal the same players would ignore him because he isn’t Pep and we don’t have masses of money. We were struggling a bit with Wenger at the helm, but to prospective players it was “Wenger” and we were Top Six, so they would still seriously consider us. All that has gone now. We are a nothing team to the sort of players Wenger could attract… Read more »
I remember Nelson Vivas saying “I never felt such perfection.” Now if that is not Wall of Fame stuff, what is?
I blame RvP for the current mess. Had he not left, we’d have won the league the following year, winning days would have returned, Wenger would have stayed on a bit more, and we would have NOT ended up with Emery.