Mikel Arteta rubbished suggestions regarding his Arsenal future following reports that the Spaniard could be leaving the club in the summer. What has now been shown to be “untrue” certainly had the Gunners’ boss riled in his pre-match press conference ahead of the clash with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
The reports had emerged late last night following the admission of Xavi Hernandez that he would be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season. In what was an emotional response, Arteta spared little detail in telling reporters and supporters his reaction to hearing the story.
“Who, me? No. That’s totally fake news,” Arteta replied when asked. “What you read yesterday is… I don’t know where it is coming from and it is totally untrue. I am really upset about it.”
This was the best way in which Arteta could have reacted to the stories. Whilst he can at times be completely dismissive to controversial topics or questions over things such as transfers, he took the time to give a detailed response and a description of his situation.
This continued when he was asked directly about his current situation at the club. For anyone listening, it became very clear that the intention is for Arteta to remain beyond this season.
“I am in the right place,” he said. “I am with the right people.
“I feel really good about it. And, as I said many times, I am invested in a beautiful journey with this football club, with these players, these staff, our people, and there is still a lot, a lot to do.”
This is also important in regards to the market and perhaps another reason why it was so clear to Arteta that he had to tackle this issue head on and pull no punches. Any player looking at Arsenal as a potential destination will want to know who their coach is going to be.
Both Liverpool and Barcelona do not have this luxury right now and it has already seen the likes of Virgil van Dijk fail to give assurances over his future. Arsenal have been linked with players in a number of positions and despite being unable to freely move this winter, the summer will be a different story.
Negotiations of course take place well ahead of the window opening and the club plan well in advance of a transfer period starting in relation to what they want to do. Arteta is critical to this and his reaction in the press conference was indeed perfect for the club and their possible targets for the summer.
