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Mikel Arteta will be offered a new two year contract by Arsenal before the end of the season.
The North London club want to fend off potential interest from Manchester City, who are rumoured to have the Spaniard in line to replace Pep Guardiola.
Arteta worked under Guardiola as his assistant at the Etihad for three years before he was appointed by the Gunners in December 2019.
They are fully aware that the expiry of Arteta’s own contract at the Emirates coincides with that of Guardiola’s at City.
Despite the club finishing eighth in the Primer League last season and having no chance of Cup success this, the club hierarchy are happy with the direction of travel under the 39-year old, and believe that he is laying the foundations for longer-team success.
He also impressed them with his ability to persuade nearly all the members of the first-team squad to take temporary pay cuts during the pandemic in 2020.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.