Arsenal close in on Arteta
Mikel Arteta was due to meet Arsenal director Josh Kroenke yesterday for his final interview to become the struggling Premier League club’s new head coach.
Although Manchester City will not stand in their assistant manager’s way, they are unhappy at the way Arsenal have conducted talks with Arteta. City will demand compensation, with 18 months left on Arteta’s contract, after being told that Arsenal want him now rather than at the end of a season that is badly unravelling.
Arsenal lost 3-0 to City at the Emirates Stadium on Monday, making it only one win in 12 matches in all competitions.
City are annoyed that all the senior executives from both clubs, including Josh Kroenke, son of the owner Stan Kroenke, were at the stadium and yet Arsenal did not talk about Arteta.
City are particularly unhappy because they have made it known that they would not stand in the way of Arteta, whom they do not blame, should he be given the chance to further his career and fulfil his ambition to become a manager.
Instead, two senior Arsenal officials: managing director Vinai Venkatesham and Huss Fahmy, director of football operations; drove to Arteta’s home in Manchester for talks, with photographs later emerging of the pair leaving.
As The Daily Telegraph reported, it was the second meeting that Arsenal had held with Arteta after Raul Sanllehi, the head of football, had spoken to him last week. It is understood that Arsenal have held talks with as many as eight candidates to replace Unai Emery with Arteta now emerging as first-choice moving in to the final round of recruiting a manager, his meeting with Kroenke. If that goes well, Arteta should be confirmed in time for Sunday’s Premier League fixture away to Everton – another of his former clubs.