Arsenal report: Gunners face LOSING Mikel Arteta, with former club circling
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is starting to realise his vision at the Emirates Stadium – but he could depart north London soon
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could be set for a shock departure from the Emirates Stadium.
The Basque boss has been in charge of Arsenal since December 2019 and in that time, has led the Gunners to back-to-back eighth-placed finishes, along with an FA Cup during lockdown in 2020.
But the Gunners have kept faith in Arteta and his vision, backing him heavily in the transfer market last summer and promoting him from his original Head Coach title to "manager" after his first season in charge of the club ended. Now, however, rumours are circling that he could be set for a swift exit.
Paris Saint-Germain are said to be interested in bringing Arteta, who turns 40 this month, to the French capital to replace Mauricio Pochettino. The pair actually played together for Les Parisiens, too: Arteta spent the 2001/02 season on loan from Barcelona, where he linked up with Pochettino and the likes of Ronaldinho and Jay-Jay Okocha in Ligue 1.
Arteta then moved to Rangers, Everton and eventually Arsenal, who he captained to two FA Cup trophies before retiring in 2016 at the age of 34.
Arteta's contract at the Emirates Stadium runs until 2023. It's been reported that Arsenal would like to extend his stay in north London but are waiting upon results this season to open talks. European qualification of any kind would almost guarantee the Spaniard staying.
Whether or not he would be interested in leaving Arsenal is another matter, too. Arteta has been passionate about his project and appears to love the club, having taken a pay cut in order to join back in 2011.
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At PSG, the young coach would most likely clash with many of the senior players over work ethic, just as he has at Arsenal and would likely not be afforded the same faith that Gunners owners KSE have shown him.
Arsenal are currently fourth in the table.
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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.