Arteta deal imminent as City fume at Arsenal conduct

Spaniard expected to sign 3½-year contract Champions bemused by the absence of approach

Arsenal hope to install Mikel Arteta as their new head coach in time for Saturday’s meeting with Everton, although Manchester City were last night furious they had still received no contact from the north London club over the Spaniard’s future.

City are not prepared to stand in the way of Arteta, but they have been enraged by Arsenal’s conduct as they were yet to receive an approach ahead of last night’s meeting with Oxford United in the Carabao Cup, when Arteta was on the City bench as usual.

Arsenal are understood to be in the process of finalising the details of the 37-year-old’s move, with Arteta believed to have agreed to a 3½-year deal at the Emirates.

But City are adamant that no deal has been struck with Arsenal and are demanding that an agreement is reached over a seven-figure compensation fee before Arteta is given their blessing to leave for north London.

City have been bemused by Arsenal’s conduct since Sunday, when none of the club’s executives discussed Arteta’s future as the two sides met at the Emirates Stadium.

Senior figures from both sides socialised before and after the Premier League match and the lack of an approach is likely to create a strained relationship between the clubs.

The unhappiness on City’s part is unlikely to have any effect on Arteta’s short-term future, or on the Spaniard’s standing at the club, and The Daily Telegraph understands that Arsenal are well aware of the financial requirements of making the appointment.

The Telegraph reported on Monday that Arteta had met with Arsenal executives last week, before a second meeting with Vinai Venkatesham, the managing director, and Huss Fahmy, director of football operations, late on Sunday night.

There have also been talks with Josh Kroenke, the son of owner Stan. The younger Kroenke has been involved throughout the recruitment process as part of his increased role in the day-to-day running of the club and was in London for Sunday’s 3-0 defeat by City.

Arteta came close to being offered the Arsenal head coach position last year, when the club were seeking a replacement for Arsene Wenger. On that occasion, Arsenal opted for Unai Emery, who was sacked last month after a collapse in the team’s form. At 37, and with no managerial experience, Arteta represents a gamble for Arsenal, but he is highly regarded for his work at the club, when he served as captain for two years, and for his success as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at City.

One of Arteta’s first jobs as head coach, should the details be finalised as expected, will be to ensure the support of key players such as Pierre-emerick Aubameyang, the club captain.

Aubameyang was yesterday dragged into the managerial controversy after his brother criticised Arsenal for moving for Arteta, saying the Spaniard had “no

experience” and comparing the appointment to the decision to make Freddie Ljungberg the interim head coach.

Willy Aubameyang, who is a regular presence around the club, wrote on social media: “Ljungberg Arteta is the same, no experience”.

Aubameyang, Arsenal’s top scorer with 13 goals this season, has 18 months remaining on his contract and talks over an extension have broken down in recent weeks as Arsenal have moved further and further away from the Champions League qualification places.

Arsenal have won just once in their past 12 matches in all competitions and are 10th in the Premier League ahead of Saturday’s trip to Goodison Park. There was hope upon the sacking of Emery that Ljungberg would be able to provide stability, but a series of poor performances since the Swede took over have only accelerated the process of searching for a permanent head coach, which has included interviews with a series of candidates.

Meanwhile, Wenger has said that Arteta has a “great future” as a manager. The Frenchman had a warning for his former player, however, saying that he would need to surround himself with the right people to bring success back to the club.

“I am an Arsenal supporter,” Wenger said. “And at the moment I support the manager in charge and the manager in charge is Ljungberg. When Arteta will be in charge I will support Arteta.

“He is intelligent, he has passion, he has knowledge, but Ljungberg [does] as well.

“I believe that Arteta has certainly a great future, he has certainly learnt a lot in his first position as an assistant coach and, after that, he will have to deal with the fact that he has no experience at that level and he will have to get surrounded well.

“When I left, the club was in a very strong financial position, and they bought many players in between – they have not all worked out.”