Man City eye Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta as Pep Guardiola replacement

Arsenal, despite at risk of losing their place in the top four to those with matches in hand, and being without European football this season, are arguably at their highest ebb under Mikel Arteta.

The defeat to Manchester City was a bitterly disappointing result, not because it was the biannual drubbing, but because Arsenal should have won the match. A magnificent performance defined by four key minutes.

That isn’t why the feeling is high around the club. The excitement and belief are blooming because fans can see the future on the pitch. Not only is it a group of players the supporters adore, it’s an immensely talented crop playing with a clear identity whose development is playing out before our very eyes.

Wanting something to hold on to and believe in, this installment of Arsenal Fooball Club is just that. The manager, while also overseeing some of the lowest points in this club’s modern history, has been pivotal in instilling hope around north London.

Manchester City eye Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta as potential Pep Guardiola replacement when contract expires in 2023

He’s also still not achieved anything this season. But a few weeks ago it was his head on the block. As encouraging as the signs are at Arsenal there remains no European football to show for it. Yet.

Should he fail to guide the club back into European competition then serious, and valid, questions will be asked of the man whose contract expires at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Amid all the talk about player contracts, is the manager’s one that needs discussing as well? As per The Athletic, Manchester City are keeping a watchful eye on their former assistant as they lay out their plans for the future after Pep Guardiola.

Also due to have his deal expire at the same stage, the Catalan boss has made no secret about his desire for a new challenge and The City Football Group model values coaches who understand the clubs and its system. Arteta knows it inside out. As does Patrick Vieira, who is also under consideration.

But is it a non-issue? As alluring as regular title hunts, a squad bursting with world class talent, and Champions League football may be, Arteta has invested so much into Arsenal to create his own ‘mini City’ that abandoning that now for the finished product would feel counter-productive. You’d like the think, at least, that he has a point to prove in north London.

He’s got admirers, though. And, in Sir Alex Ferguson style, you’d imagine that Guardiola will be making his feelings known on who should succeed him. Arteta would surely be his man.

However, until that point there is no reason whatsoever to make a decision now. The end of the season is when this should be reviewed. No sooner than that.