Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta responds to Real Madrid links
Mikel Arteta is reportedly being considered by Real Madrid, but he has stated that he is completely concentrating on his role at Arsenal.
Arsenal have been very successful under Mikel Arteta this season, winning 20 out of 26 Premier League games and currently leading the table by five points. Arteta, who used to work as an assistant to Pep Guardiola, joined Arsenal in December 2019 after leaving Manchester City.
In his first season as Arsenal’s manager, Arteta helped the team win the FA Cup, but they only finished in eighth place in his first full season, which led to some people calling for him to be fired from his position as a former Arsenal player.
Despite facing tough times and a late-season collapse last year, Arteta managed to turn Arsenal into a team that can contend for the title this season, with the Gunners currently sitting five points ahead of Manchester City with 12 games left to play. As a result, Real Madrid has taken notice of Arteta’s success and is reportedly considering him as a potential replacement for Carlo Ancelotti.
Last season, Madrid won both La Liga and the Champions League, but they have fallen nine points behind their arch-rivals Barcelona this term, leading to speculation about Ancelotti’s future at the Bernabeu.
Asked about the speculation on Wednesday, Arteta said: “Managers and players can’t control what is written by the press.
“What I can tell is that I’m fully focused on what I’m doing here and extremely proud and grateful to do what I’m doing in this football club. That’s it.”
Arteta made these comments during a press conference prior to Arsenal’s first-leg Europa League round of 16 match against Sporting Lisbon.
As a teenager, Arteta briefly trained in Barcelona’s academy, but he left before he had the chance to play for the first team. He did, however, play in La Liga for Real Sociedad before moving to the Premier League, where he played for 11 years.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta responds to Real Madrid links