Pep Guardiola has insisted that Mikel Arteta will not be leaving the club midway through the season to replace under-pressure Arsenal boss Unai Emery. The former Arsenal and Everton midfielder has been part of the backroom staff at the Etihad for three and a half years now and is widely regarded as one of the games most exciting young coaches. Having learned his trade under Guardiola, that’s certainly not difficult to believe.
The future of Emery in North London is uncertain and it’s common knowledge that Arteta was one of the candidates the club considered to replace Arsene Wenger leading to speculation he could be in the frame to replace the 49-year-old if he is to be sacked in the near future. However, despite the rumours, speaking in his press conference, Guardiola seems confident his man isn’t going anywhere at least for the remainder of the season.
“I think Emery is the manager of Arsenal. Of course he (Arteta) will be a manager sooner or later, he’s young.
“We are going to finish the season and in future, I don’t know what will happen. I’d like him to stay with us as much as possible. Not just me but Manchester City has an incredibly valuable person to work in this club for the future, but personal life is personal life and professional desire.
“But we are more than satisfied to have him here but what happens at the end of the season I don’t know.”
TIF Tactics – Is the Arsenal job the right one for a new manager?
The Spaniard is of huge value to his mentor Guardiola but even the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach acknowledges that at some point Arteta will want to go out on his own and test himself as a number one. Perhaps when the right opportunity presents itself, we will see the pair part ways but given the turmoil at Arsenal, even somebody who’s played for the club and captained them may feel its too demanding of a task.
Arteta played over 150 times for the north London giants and is held in high regard by the staff who remain at the club but as a young manager almost ready to move into the big bad world of football management would he be walking into a job in which he would be doomed to fail? It’s likely the 37-year-old won’t be making any sort of move until at the earliest, the summer but when the time eventually comes he’ll be sorely missed at the Etihad Stadium.