Mikel Arteta reveals why he will stay at Arsenal despite Barcelona speculation
Mikel Arteta insists he remains „immersed in a beautiful journey“ with Arsenal and still has plenty left to achieve amid recent speculation linking him with the Barcelona job.
Arteta’s record at Arsenal and his personal history with Barca, leaving home aged 15 to join the club’s famed youth ranks, had made him a prime contender to replace Xavi at the end of the season.
But the 41-year-old, who has been Arsenal boss since 2019, said that it „upset“ him when reports in Spain wrongly claimed he had told close friends he was considering terminating his contract early in order to return to the club where his career took off.
Now, he has also detailed just why he is so committed to Arsenal.
„I love what I do. I love every minute and I get a lot of joy with waking up every morning and knowing that I have to drive to Colney and I’m going to meet these people, spend time together with them, and prepare to be better for the next day,“ Arteta said, via Arsenal.com.
„That’s what drives you, it drives you when you feel respected, when you feel loved as well, when you see a clear direction and ambition what you want do as a club and as a team, and this is where we are right now.
He continued: „I’m in the right place. I’m with the right people, I feel really good about it and, as I said many times, I’m immersed in a beautiful journey with this football club, these players, this staff and our people and I’m investing still a lot for them.
„There is a lot to do here as well, we all share that ambition, and you can feel it as well that we want more. We’re not satisfied, and the club wants to take another push and another level in everything that we’re doing. This is where we are, everybody on board to achieve it and I’m certainly on board.
„I always felt it was our team, it was my team, because when you make the decision to coach or manage a club, you have to make those players your own, in the same way as the staff. Players signed by another manager, you try and make them your own to maximise as you want. We had two years of a very difficult Covid situation that we cannot forget, and then my job became more normal within the complexity of the situation we had, much more normal and doable hopefully.
„I’m enjoying it a lot, and I feel that we are on the right track, but again we are still very far from my vision of where this club and team has to be.
„We navigated some difficult moments and challenges that we had through Covid, I think in a really powerful way. Hopefully my belief is that that created emotionally a more strong attachment and belief that we were the right people to take the club forward. It happened for a reason, and I think we used it in the right way.“