- Mikel Arteta denies wanting to leave Arsenal for Barcelona.
- Arteta is upset by fake news reports.
- Arteta is committed to Arsenal and making the team successful.
Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, reaffirmed his commitment to the club and expressed his frustration at rumours that he had told his colleagues that he wanted to leave for Barcelona next season.
On Sunday night, some Spanish media outlets reported that Arteta had accidentally disclosed his intention to depart from the Emirates Stadium in the summer and take over his former team.
Xavi, the current Barcelona manager, had declared on Saturday that he would resign in the summer after a string of poor results, making Arteta one of the main candidates for the job.
Arteta, who has a strong bond with Barcelona from his time in the famous academy, is resolved to stay at Arsenal and work hard to make the team successful.
“I am in the right place. I am with the right people,” he said.
“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.
“There is still a lot to do here. We all share that ambition and you can feel it as well, that we want more, that we aren’t satisfied and that the club wants to take another push and another level in everything we are doing.
“This is where we are. We need everyone on board to achieve it and I am certainly on board.”
Arteta, who will lead his team against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Tuesday, said the reports were totally false.
“That’s totally fake news,” he added.
“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.
“I could not believe it. I don’t know where it is coming from and it has no source. It has got nothing and I think we have to be very cautious when you talk about personal things, to put it in the way it was put yesterday.
“I understand we are in this industry but I don’t think anyone deserves to hear news like that and I have always been really straight and always said the complete opposite; how happy I am, how grateful I am and how much I enjoy where I am now. That is why I am upset.”
Arsenal will welcome the top team in the league, Liverpool, at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with Liverpool’s manager Jurgen Klopp announcing on Friday that he will leave Anfield at the end of the season.
The German said that he could never work for another club in England. However, Arteta, who had previously been an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, did not rule out such a possibility in the future.
When questioned about the potential of managing another Premier League team, he responded, “At present, no. But I don’t know.”
“I played for two great clubs in this country (Arsenal and Everton). I moved around in different things. I am extremely young and I don’t know what’s going to happen.
“I think he (Klopp) made this league much better. First of all the person. The character, the charisma, the ideas and his passion for the game is something special. I think he’s had a big contribution for the growth of this league.”
