King Kev stars as Blues floor Foxes
CITY did not want to lose Mikel Arteta.
Since arriving as a rookie coach in 2016, he quickly marked himself out as an important member of the backroom staff and had club bosses and Pep Guardiola allies earmarking him as a potential successor at the Etihad.
City certainly did not want to lose Arteta in the middle of this season.
There have already been too many distractions for the Premier League champions this season, from the ongoing investigations into the club dragging on, to fixtures fury, to the storm around Bernardo Silva’s ill-judged tweet to Benjamin Mendy.
With the players not consistent enough in the league to be challenging for the title, the last thing they need is the departure of a coach that has helped so many of them to improve.
They have lost him, though. Guardiola did not want to stand in anybody’s way who would rather be elsewhere and the Arsenal gig is an attractive one, however messy the squad may currently look.
As much as the Blues didn’t want it to happen, and as much as it weakens them in the short term, it doesn’t necessarily blow their own succession plans out of the water.
First, Arteta leaving gives further credence to the idea that Guardiola will at least see out his contract at the Etihad. The Catalan’s demeanour this season has had many predicting an early departure, but he has insisted he will not be leaving before 2021. Asked last week if City could convince Arteta to stay by guaranteeing him the manager’s job, Guardiola answered: “Do you want to sack me?”
Eighteen months is a hefty wedge of time to analyse how Arteta the manager differs from Arteta the coach. There are great expectations of the former Everton midfielder but a number of excellent coaches – including some of Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistants – have struggled when in the hotseat and the climate at Arsenal is not particularly accommodating for anybody to come in and make a big impact.
There were always going to be other excellent candidates for Guardiola’s job – Mauricio Pochettino is reported to be interested – but if Arteta does thrive, that only makes him more appealing to City.
For years the Blues have cherrypicked the best assets from the Emirates and they will surely call again when Guardiola does move on. Many of the same players that Arteta has worked with for the last few years will likely still be at the Etihad when that happens.
City may not have wanted it this way, but losing Arteta to Arsenal does give them an unexpected opportunity as the planning continues for their next manager.