Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has debunked rumors linking him to a soon-to-be-vacant Barcelona managerial role.
In a quote shared by Fabrizio Romano, Mikel Arteta brandished the reports as fake and untrue, adding he is infuriated with the report as he has no plans to leave Arsenal in June as speculated.
“Fake news. Totally fake news”.
“I don’t know where it is coming from. It is totally untrue”.
“I am really upset about it. I could not believe it. No source, nothing”.
Mikel Arteta, who joined Arsenal as first-team manager in 2019, was tipped to succeed soon-to-leave Barcelona manager, Xavi Hernandez.
Xavi Hernandez announced he will step down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season following the club's shock home defeat to Villarreal in La Liga.
Mikel Arteta and Xavi Hernandez are both Barcelona youth products. Arteta played for Barcelona youth from 1997 to 1999 before transitioning to Barcelona Reserve team, where he made 42 appearances, scoring 3 goals.
Notably, Arteta never made a first-team appearance for Barcelona unlike Xavi, who is regarded as a club legend, having played for the club for 17 years from 1998 to 2015, making 505 La Liga appearances for the club and winning all available trophies.
Xavi played for Barcelona only throughout his playing career while Arteta left the club in 2022 for a temporary loan spell with PSG in France after he failed to nail down a spot in the club's first team.
Despite sharing contrasting fortunes as one-time ex-Barcelona players, Mikel Arteta and Xavi have depended heavily on their Barcelona roots to calibrate their style of play and football philosophy as managers.
With the imminent exit of Xavi from the Culers' dugout, Arteta unsurprisingly made the list of possible replacements for the former Al-Sadd manager.
As things stand, such a move is unlikely as Arteta is still fully committed to Arsenal with reports linking him to a possible new contract extension with the Gunners.
His current deal with the London club will expire at the next season
In a quote shared by Fabrizio Romano, Mikel Arteta brandished the reports as fake and untrue, adding he is infuriated with the report as he has no plans to leave Arsenal in June as speculated.
“Fake news. Totally fake news”.
“I don’t know where it is coming from. It is totally untrue”.
“I am really upset about it. I could not believe it. No source, nothing”.
Mikel Arteta, who joined Arsenal as first-team manager in 2019, was tipped to succeed soon-to-leave Barcelona manager, Xavi Hernandez.
Xavi Hernandez announced he will step down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season following the club's shock home defeat to Villarreal in La Liga.
Mikel Arteta and Xavi Hernandez are both Barcelona youth products. Arteta played for Barcelona youth from 1997 to 1999 before transitioning to Barcelona Reserve team, where he made 42 appearances, scoring 3 goals.
Notably, Arteta never made a first-team appearance for Barcelona unlike Xavi, who is regarded as a club legend, having played for the club for 17 years from 1998 to 2015, making 505 La Liga appearances for the club and winning all available trophies.
Xavi played for Barcelona only throughout his playing career while Arteta left the club in 2022 for a temporary loan spell with PSG in France after he failed to nail down a spot in the club's first team.
Despite sharing contrasting fortunes as one-time ex-Barcelona players, Mikel Arteta and Xavi have depended heavily on their Barcelona roots to calibrate their style of play and football philosophy as managers.
With the imminent exit of Xavi from the Culers' dugout, Arteta unsurprisingly made the list of possible replacements for the former Al-Sadd manager.
As things stand, such a move is unlikely as Arteta is still fully committed to Arsenal with reports linking him to a possible new contract extension with the Gunners.
His current deal with the London club will expire at the next season