Arsenal warned conditions that’ll see Mikel Arteta push for Man City or Barcelona move

The Arsenal hierarchy have been told how they can keep manager Mikel Arteta from the clutches of either Manchester City or Barcelona in the future.

Arteta was appointed Arsenal boss in December 2019 after he spent three and a half years working under Pep Guardiola as assistant manager for Man City. Arteta had to request patience from Arsenal fans to trust in his long-term project, which was very frustrating at times, but the Gunners have reaped the rewards in the last few years.

In the last two full seasons, Arsenal have pushed Man City all the way in the Premier League title race, ultimately losing out on both occasions.

So far, the 2024-25 campaign has been a tough one for Arteta and Arsenal, with injuries to several key players seeing them drop more points than usual and fall nine points behind league leaders Liverpool.

But captain Martin Odegaard has returned to action and he is aiming to spearhead another Arsenal title challenge after the international break.

Former Arsenal star Alan Smith has now told the Gunners that they must not ‘stand still’, as this lack of progress will see Arteta push for a move away.

City could make contact for the 42-year-old if Pep Guardiola leaves, given their previous links, while Barcelona considered Arteta earlier this year before landing Hansi Flick.

“I think as long as he [Arteta] feels that Arsenal are improving and trying to improve in terms of their ambition… he’ll talk to the owners, to Stan Kroenke and Josh, his son, and see what visions they’ve got,” Smith told the Daily Express.

“If he feels the club standing still or going backward, yeah well, a manager of his drive and ambition then would be looking elsewhere.

“But at the moment, he’s put so much effort and put so much work into that team and into the club in general. He’ll want to see some reward for it.

“They’ve been so close to getting that and who knows, they might get something this season, whether it’s the league or a cup. They’re well capable of doing that.”

In September, Arteta penned a new contract with Arsenal which runs until June 2027. This puts Arsenal in a strong position.

However, there looks set to be a big shake-up at the Emirates as Arteta’s close ally Edu has decided to leave his role as sporting director.

Arsenal need to get the appointment of their next sporting director right, as this new chief will work closely with Arteta on reshaping the squad via transfers.

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Meanwhile, German reporter Christian Falk has suggested Arsenal could emerge as frontrunners in the chase to land Leroy Sane.

The winger has entered the final months of his Bayern Munich contract and is being heavily tipped to return to the Prem.

Sane would rather live in London than Manchester, following his previous spell with City, and this could see Arsenal beat Manchester United in the transfer pursuit.

Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi is another player Arsenal are hunting.

The Spaniard remains of interest to Liverpool after they missed out on him over the summer, while City have been named as potential suitors, too.

Zubimendi has now admitted he is very likely to be the subject of lots of transfer rumours once the winter window gets underway.

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