After a rough start to the Premier League season Mikel Arteta has earned his keep at Arsenal. The Spanish coach has The Gunners in fourth place and winners of their last 5 games. While not completely in grasp of a Champions League spot, Arsenal is in sole possession of fourth place with Manchester United and West Ham United right behind them.
Arteta’s time at Arsenal has been a mixed bag of promising to dumpster fire, still Arsenal have won 1 FA Cup and Community Shield in his time in charge of the club. While still under contract until next season rumors have begun to heat up that Arteta is one of nine options for PSG.
According to L’Equipe, Mikel Arteta would be an out of left field candidate and the PSG brass like what they see and could present Arsenal and Arteta a buyout option. Still the Daily Mirror reported that the Spanish coach has yet to commit his future to Arsenal and this has opened the door for a move.
Mikel Arteta one of nine names to take over PSG in the summer
Despite reports that Mauricio Pochettino may be sacked the reality is that the Argentine manager will most likely see out the end of the season and then be removed from his position. Arteta played at PSG for 1 season while on loan from Barcelona in 2001, and while things have dramatically changed for PSG since then, he is familiar with the club.
The question of a possible move for Arteta is what he can achieve going forward with Arsenal? The Gunners seem to have hit their peak with Arteta, and while a competitive squad Arsenal is not built for winning the Premier League nor competing in UEFA Champions League. PSG would provide Arteta that possibility to manage a deep squad built for European success.
Still, with heads rolling soon at PSG, where Arteta’s name fits with the new brass that may come in remains to be seen. The list for a new coach ranges from Arteta to Zinedine Zidane, Juventus’ Massimiliano Allegri, Ajax’s Erik ten Hag, Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, Inter Milan’s Simone Inzaghi, Spezia boss Thiago Motta, and River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo.