Manchester City were keen on signing key Arsenal man ahead of this week’s renewal

Manchester City were looking to bring Mikel Arteta back to the club before he ended up committing his future to Arsenal.

According to a report from HITC, Manchester City were interested in the services of Mikel Arteta. The English giants wanted to bring their former assistant manager back to the club to take over from Pep Guardiola before he ended up signing a new deal with the Gunners.

Arteta started his coaching career at Manchester City as an assistant to Pep Guardiola. He was a part of the City setup for over three years from 2016 to 2019. After doing an impressive job under the former Barcelona manager, he left the club towards the end of 2019 to take charge at Arsenal.

The Gunners who were struggling to return to their glory days appointed their former skipper as their new manager in hopes that he could help them bounce back. While the initial years didn’t go according to plan, they have finished second in the Premier League for the last two seasons and have once again established themselves as a constant feature in the Champions League.

Arteta has done wonders for the North London club in recent seasons but with his contract running out in 2025, there was a lot of uncertainty around his future. Manchester City were one of the clubs interested in the Spanish manager.

Pep Guardiola’s deal runs out in less than 12 months. While City will try everything in their power to keep hold of their star manager, the former Spanish midfielder will have the final say on his future. With the possibility of him leaving the club in the summer, City were looking at Arteta as the perfect replacement.

Arsenal secure Mikel Arteta’s long-term future

But they won’t succeed in their plans to bring their former assistant manager back to the club as he has agreed a new deal with Arsenal. Arteta has agreed to extend his stay by another two years as he has penned down a new three-year deal.

The club were keen to avoid any more uncertainty about the future of their manager. They wanted to make progress in renewal talks during the September international break and have managed to strike a deal this week Arsenal have already made an official announcement and this will surely please their fans who were not that happy with their work in the transfer window.