Mikel Arteta gives blunt response after Arsenal manager is linked with stunning Real Madrid job
MIKEL ARTETA has shrugged off reports linking him to Real Madrid and pledged his future to Arsenal.
The Gunners boss has not forgotten the show of faith from owner Stan Kroenke when he was handed a new contract last April despite the team faltering in the race for the top four.
And now he wants to repay that loyalty by ignoring all the speculation ro bring a first League title since 2004 to the Emirates.
European Champions Real Madrid are in the market for a new coach to replace the veteran Carlo Ancelotti, who is being lined up to become Brazilian national coach in the summer.
And it is being claimed in Spain that Real president Florentino Perez has identified 40-year-old Arteta as the man to take over at the Bernabeu.
But Arteta, who is under contract with Arsenal to 2025, insists he is not even thinking about a potential return to Spain.
Ahead of the first leg of Arsenal’s Europa League clash with Sporting Lisbon, he said: “As a manager, I cannot control the things that are written about me.
“But what I can tell you is that I am fully focused on the job I am doing here and I am extremely proud and grateful to do what I am doing with this football club.
“And that’s it.”
That will be music to the ears of the Arsenal fans who have taken Arteta to their hearts this season after guiding their team to a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
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Yet it hasn’t always been so easy for Pep Guardiola’s former Manchester City assistant who was appointed to replace Unai Emery in December 2019.
And it was only last summer that a number of supporters were calling for a new boss after Arsenal surrendered fourth place to bitter rivals Spurs on the final day of last season.