A report claiming that Mikel Arteta could sensationally quit Arsenal at the end of the season and join Barcelona as head coach has been downplayed. Catalan publication SPORT claimed that the Gunners boss could take over from Xavi after the former midfielder announced he would be stepping down from his role in the Nou Camp dugout at the end of the campaign.
Arsenal are embroiled in the Premier League title race against the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, and are still in with a chance of lifting the Champions League trophy in June after progressing to the knockout rounds with ease. Speculation that Arteta might step away from all the hard work and progress he's achieved with north London club since his appointment in 2019 was unexpected.
His Arsenal side came close to usurping Pep Guardiola's Man City team during the 2022-23 season, but the young Gunners squad fell short. After a strong summer rebuild that saw the likes of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz join the club, Arsenal have looked like serious contenders to lift the trophy that has evaded them for two decades - although other sides have also strengthened.
It's unlikely that the Spanish manager would be thinking about anything other than the job at hand, with several gruelling months still to come in his pursuit of adding to the three trophies he has won while in charge of the club he used to play for. An FA Cup and two Community Shields are the biggest achievements of his managerial career to date, but massive things are expected of Arteta going forward as he is still a very young boss.
Mikel Arteta Arsenal exit talked down
Barcelona's hunt for a new manager will begin after Xavi's announcement
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While there is a clear connection between Arteta and Barcelona in the fact that he is from Spain, and anyone from the nation would feel honour and pride to be the main figurehead of the Catalan giants, his love for his current club is also just as evident.
According to Sky Sports News, there is no chance Arteta will be departing the Emirates upon the conclusion of the current season as the Spaniard is said to have 'no plans to leave'. The Gunners boss has a contract with his employers until 2025, and could even renew the terms by the time it expires.
He captained Arsenal as a player and now proudly leads the side out as the boss, and his impact on the team on the pitch and the club off it, has been nothing short of exemplary. The original report by SPORT had claimed that Arteta had told his entourage that he would be leaving the London-based club in the summer.
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