Dubai: Mikel Arteta has changed Arsenal’s destiny in recent years, winning the club’s first Premier League in over two decades. It is no doubt that the North London team would want the Spaniard to continue with them for more years.
However, clubs are already showing interest in luring Arteta out of Emirates Stadium. According to TEAMtalk, Saudi Pro League giants Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr made contact to assess the coach’s situation, but Arteta reportedly had no plans to leave Arsenal.
The intel also suggests that he has agreed to sign a new long-term contract with the Gunners. Arteta is currently working through the final year of the extension he signed in September 2024. He was appointed back in 2019.
While he remained at Arsenal, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr eventually appointed former Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou. Al-Ittihad replaced Sergio Conceicao with 38-year-old German coach Jens Wissing.
Nevertheless, Arsenal will want Arteta to sign a long-term deal since another major club has also set their eyes at the Spaniard. FC Barcelona, who recently extended Hansi Flick’s contract for two more years, consider Arteta as the German’s ideal replacement.
The Catalan club did not make a move at the 44-year-old coach this summer as they showed their trust with Flick. But according to TEAMtalk, Barcelona consider Arteta as the future manager of the club. The Arsenal coach has had ties with Blaugrana since his teenage years when he joined La Masia.
Arteta was part of Barcelona’s youth squad while playing for the club’s B team. For now, he will continue leading Arsenal with hopes of successfully defending their league title and winning their first Champions League. But in few years, questions around Arteta’s future will only get more intense as homecoming can be in the books.
