Arsenal have held talks with former player, and current Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta, over the prospect of his potentially becoming the team’s next manager. Arteta, 36, played for the Gunners from 2011-2016, and he served as captain for part of his stint with the club.
The north London side have also reached out to another former captain, Patrick Vieira, about the possibility of succeeding Arsene Wenger, who just stepped down after 22 years in charge of the team.
While Wenger says he does not wish to have any influence over who his eventual replacement at the Emirates will be, he does say that Mikel Arteta fits the bill.
In an interview with Bein Sports, Wenger said: “Overall he has the qualities but I don’t want to influence that publicly. I believe it is important they make their choice in an objective way and after made that decision I will support him.”
Arteta, who retired from playing just two years ago, has no managerial experience as of yet. For Wenger, his next move is still unknown at this point, but the idea of his managing in England is extremely unlikely.
“The Premier League is the most attractive place to be, but managing in different cultures and environments is something that is very interesting,” the Frenchman said.
If Arsenal do hand the reigns over to Arteta, he will reportedly be given a summer transfer budget of around £50 million to rebuild the side.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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