Tag: Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has agreed a new three-year contract at the Premier League club, ending uncertainty over his future, according to widespread reports in British media.

The 42-year-old Spaniard had entered the final 12 months of his deal at the Emirates but is now expected to stay until 2027.

Arteta, who had been working as a coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, replaced compatriot Unai Emery as Arsenal boss in December 2019.

He won the FA Cup in his first season in charge – his first silverware as a manager.

Arsenal have finished as runners-up to City in the Premier League for the past two seasons, going agonisingly close to lifting the trophy for the first time since 2004.

Arteta’s men are currently fourth in the table after two wins and a draw and begin their Champions League campaign next week against Atalanta.

The BBC said the Spaniard’s new deal is expected to be confirmed before Sunday’s north London derby at Tottenham.

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Arteta, who played 150 times for Arsenal and captained the side, called for calm last month regarding his contract situation, insisting his focus had been on the transfer window.

 “We are on it and we will take care of that in the right moment,” said Arteta, who had previously been linked with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.

 “I don’t think anybody has to panic. I am in the place where I want to be and am really happy.

 “Hopefully the club thinks the same thing and the players I work with, who in my opinion are the most important ones.”

Arsenal strengthened in the summer transfer window, bringing in a clutch of players including Raheem Sterling, Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori, but there are still questions over whether they have enough firepower.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted to holding some guilt over his parents’ divorce during his playing days.

The Spaniard’s parents, Llle-Heilen (mother) and Kalju Aru (Father) parted ways shortly after his 24th birthday. Devastated by the news of his mother and father’s split, Arteta did his best to unify the family and fix his parents’ marriage by joining La Liga side Real Sociedad in the summer of 2004.

In the preceding years, the classy midfielder had spent two seasons making a name for himself at Rangers, where he had contributed 13 goals and three assists in 60 appearances. Arteta loved his time at Ibrox and was equally adored by the  club’s fanbase.

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But his desire to try and reunify his folks convinced him to part ways with the Scottish giants and move to Sociedad. Unfortunately, things did not work out for his family. Almost 20 years later, Arteta admits he still feels awful about what happened.

During a candid interview with BBC Sport, Arteta said: “I felt so guilty. I didn’t know if that was because of me and trying to pursue my dream.

“I feel very responsible for that. I never felt that it was the right call [to move back to Spain], but I had a duty and I wanted to reconnect my parents and my family again.

 “It was a disaster. It never worked in that sense. I never felt connected in any moment.”

Arteta’s time at the Reale Arena barely lasted six months as he moved back to the UK. He was snapped up by Everton on deadline day in the 2005 January transfer window.

Initially, David Moyes only signed the midfielder on loan from the La Liga giants. His move would be made permanent the following summer, as the Toffees forked out £2m to keep him on the blue side of Merseyside.

 “Straight away, you connect with the team; you connect with the players; you connect with the staff; you connect with the supporters and it flows,” Arteta replied, when asked about his move to Everton. “And that feeling is needed.

 “You feel confident, you feel excited every morning to get off your bed and go to training. I loved every minute.”

In an almost poetic ending to the Premier League season, Arteta finds himself needing a victory over Everton to keep Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes alive. If the Gunners overcome the Toffees and West Ham manage to grab a win or a draw away to Manchester City, the north Londoners will win the Premier League.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has told his players not to allow their season to implode after a “painful” Champions League exit in Munich.

The Arsenal manager said he was “sad and disappointed” with the narrow defeat in the Allianz Arena and that the pain of losing to Joshua Kimmich’s second half header would go deep.

But after the Premier League loss to Aston Villa last Sunday, Arsenal cannot afford to lose at Wolves on Saturday evening, otherwise they will almost certainly end their campaign without a trophy.

And Arteta declared: “We have to show we are capable of turning it around. I will stand by them but we have to pick it up because we have a big, big game on Saturday. We want the Premier League.

“We are sad and disappointed with the final result – it was painful but we have to learn from it.

“I was proud of the players and what we tried to do but we lacked the magic moment that you need in this competition and we didn’t defend well in one moment.”

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Although he failed to score, the night was a personal triumph for Harry Kane, who is now one two-legged tie away from a Champions League final in his first season with the German giants.

Kane said: “It’s an unbelievable win. It’s been a tough season for us. We’ve had to fight and grind it out at times. We knew we could make the difference with our fans at home. It was a tough game, a tight game. To reach the semi-finals is a great achievement for us and we can enjoy it.”

Mikel Arteta said it was a great honour to be awarded the Premier League’s manager of the month award for February.

The Arsenal boss led his side to five straight league wins last month.

He credited the group effort of his players and staff during a successful period in north London.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Brentford, Arteta said: “It’s a great honour in this league to get recognised in this way so I want to say thank you to the team and the staff for always being supportive and making this happen.”

Out-of-favour goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale will return to the XI because first-choice David Raya is not eligible to face his parent club.

Arteta, who has no regrets about signing Ramsdale for a reported fee of £30million in 2021, highlighted their personal bond.

 “The connection on a personal level goes two ways pretty much and I’m really happy that we made the call as a club to sign him,” he added. “It was very controversial to start with but we wanted to change his career in a powerful way and we’re really happy.”

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Arsenal have scored 21 goals across their last four wins against Sheffield United, Newcastle, Burnley and West Ham.

The Spanish boss hailed his side’s attacking form in those games, also highlighting their defensive performances in that time in which they conceded just once.

It’s a great honour in this league to get recognised in this way so I want to say thank you to the team and the staff for always being supportive and making this happen

Arsenal’s form has put them two points off the top the of the table and if they continue their winning form and Manchester City draw with Liverpool on Sunday then they will find themselves in first place.

 “It’s great because obviously it shows the quality and the way that the team is showing,” Arteta said.“It shows the way we’re scoring the goals as well, not only the manner but the personnel as well which is a really positive thing to see.

“Defensively we’re conceding very little too so those two things together are powerful to get results, consistency and we want more.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said that reports linking him with succeeding Xavi as Barcelona manager are “totally untrue”.

Xavi announced on Saturday that he would be stepping down from the role at the end of the season.

Spanish newspaper Sport said Arteta, who is a product of Barcelona’s youth academy, was also thinking of leaving his post with the Gunners.

“Who, me? No. That is totally fake news,” said Arteta, whose Arsenal contract runs until the summer of 2025.”What you read, I’m really upset about it. I couldn’t believe it. It has no sources.

“I’m in the right place with the right people and feel really good about it.

“I’m embracing a beautiful journey with this club and there’s still a lot to do. I have a strong relationship with the board.

“Things come in a natural way. When the time is right we will have those [contract] discussions and find the best way to deal with it.”

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Arteta never played a competitive game for Barcelona’s first team and, after a loan spell at Paris St-Germain, the former midfielder went on to play for Rangers, Real Sociedad, Everton and Arsenal.

After retiring, he worked as a coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before taking over as Gunners boss in December 2019.

He won the FA Cup with the north London club in 2020 and Arsenal finished second to Manchester City in the Premier League last season after being overtaken late in the title race.

The Gunners are third – five points behind leaders Liverpool – in the top flight going into Tuesday’s game at Nottingham Forest.

They are also still in the Champions League and face Porto in the last 16.

“There is a lot to do here and we all share that ambition,” added Arteta. “We want more, we aren’t satisfied and the club wants another push to go to another level. We have everyone on board to achieve it.”